Abstract
This paper reports the visual observations of the clathrate hydrate crystal growth at the interface of water and a guest-substance liquid with surfactant. Cyclopentane and Span80 were used as the guest substance and surfactant, respectively. We visually analyzed the individual hydrate crystals and classified the morphology of the crystals according to ΔT_<sub> at atmospheric pressure. It was found that the size of the individual hydrate crystals decreased with increasing ΔT_<sub>. The results showed that the size of the individual hydrate crystals in cyclopentane-Span80 solution systems was greater than that in pure cyclopentane system. Organizing the crystal morphology, we revealed the influence of surfactants on hydrate crystal growth process. Hydrate crystals in cyclopentane-Span80 solution systems were grown into the bulk of water and cyclopentane solution instead of covering the interface.
