He is one of the dynamos in this field. He has published extensively and written a number of textbooks. E. Dendy Sloan, director of the Center for Hydrate Research at the Colorado School Mines, will be the featured speaker. His research has concentrated on natural gas hydrates. The Department of Chemical Engineering is cosponsoring the event, which will begin at 4 p.m. Oct. 24 in 251 Mechanical Laboratory Building.
Hydrates are compounds that have major implications for the natural gas industry.
Under the proper conditions, hydrates form when gas contacts water. Hydrate-forming molecules include oxygen, methane, ethane, propane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen. A pipeline may contain hydrate-forming ingredients for weeks without the icy mixture forming. But, if conditions are right, hydrates may form instantaneously.