Effect of Bubble Formation on the Dissociation of Methane Hydrate in Water: A Molecular Dynamics Study

We investigate the dissociation of methane hydrate in liquid water using molecular dynamics simulations. As dissociation of the hydrate proceeds, methane molecules are released into the aqueous phase and eventually they form bubbles. It is shown that this bubble formation, which causes change in the methane concentration in the aqueous phase, significantly affects the dissociation kinetics of methane hydrate. A large system size employed in this study makes it possible to analyze the effects of the change in the methane concentration and the formation of bubbles on the dissociation kinetics in detail. It is found that the dissociation rate decreases with time until the bubble formation and then it turns to increase. It is also demonstrated that methane hydrate can exist as a metastable superheated solid if there exists no bubble.