| The rapid industrial development abetted by ever increasing population has paved the way for exploration of alternate energy resources, as fossil fuel reserves are bound to exhaust over a period of time. Gas hydrate or clathrate hydrates of natural gas, methane hydrate in particular, is one such non-conventional source of energy, which, not so long ago was regarded as a nuisance in the oil and gas industry, due to the blockages it caused in the transportation pipes. In a hydrate, the guest molecule encapsulated within the cavity affects the host -- host interaction, thereby deforming the lattice. This work employs a unique method of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to ascertain the reference properties of various gas hydrates. All simulations were executed in NVT ensemble, using MOLDY, a software developed using C. Variations in hydrate unit cell volumes were observed with an increase in the system temperature. Co-ordinates for the lattice formed by water molecules were obtained using the TIP4P water model. The model proposed by Lee and Holder underpinned this study and the results obtained were in conformity with the experimental values fitted to the model. |
