Formerly known as the Federal Energy Technology Center, based in Morgantown, W.Va., with a branch in South Park, it was redesignated last Friday as DOE's newest national laboratory. Pitt's Holder, who chaired the meeting, recalls the days when only a few scientists did hydrate research. We'd have international meetings with 10 or 12 people. Now we've gone from maybe five to 500 scientists. Indeed, when they were first recognized 70 years ago, gas hydrates were an industry nuisance, an icy sludge that fouled natural gas pipelines.
Gas hydrates form when methane and water are together under pressure.
The combination of pressure and the stabilizing effect of methane on water molecules allows the icy substance to form at temperatures above the normal freezing point of water. The water freezes into a crystal lattice that absorbs, concentrates and traps the methane. The only difference is the lattice wouldn't exist without the methane. Gas companies eliminated their gas line problems by making sure they kept water out or by adding antifreeze. It wasn't until 1964 that drilling crews in a Siberian gas field encountered gas hydrates underground, confirming that hydrates were not just a byproduct of pressurized pipelines, but occurred naturally.