Factors influencing clathrate hydrate stability in equilibrium with liquid water: Insights from information-based statistical analysis

Screening of potential hydrate promoter/inhibitor species is essential in the investigation of clathrate hydrates in many areas of industrial interest. However, experimental analyses do not yield sufficient information to determine whether molecular size, dipole moment, molecular mass, or any other parameters influence the thermodynamic stability of clathrate hydrates in general. The present contribution employs a mutual information-based nonparametric statistical analysis to identify trends in a multivariate data set for 21 clathrate hydrate formers. It is showed through the introduction of a simple correlation that prediction of the heat of dissociation of a clathrate hydrate may be sufficient to predict the entire phase equilibrium curve above the ice point. The dipole moment and molecular volume of hydrate forming species influence the dissociation pressure curve, and distinctive behaviours may be observed for cyclic gas species as compared to non-cyclic species.