Abstract
This study is aimed at clarifying the underlying physics of the surfactant effects on clathrate hydrate crystal growth at the SDS aqueous solution/methane (liquid/gas) interface by method of the visual observations. SDS and methane were used as the surfactant and guest substance, respectively. The crystal morphology was clarified according to the ΔT_<sub>, as index of the driving force for the crystal growth. ΔT_<sub> is defined as difference between the system temperature and the hydrate equilibrium temperature. The crystal growth behavior of SDS aqueous solution/methane system was changed because hydrate crystals were detached from the interface.
