| dc.description.abstract | Natural gas hydrates provide both a flow- assurance hazard and a potential fossil fuel source. In order to face the challenges presented by these scenarios, a greater understanding of the properties of hydrates in a range of environments is required. NMR spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for investigation of such properties; however, most previous studies have involved use of either deuterated components, ^13C NMR, magic angle spinning or a combination of these. Proton NMR of static natural-isotope hydrates has therefore received little attention before investigation in this thesis, an important aspect of which is to establish procedures and identify effective NMR experiments. Procedures have therefore been established for the preparation of samples from a cyclopentane hydrate model system, to which ^1H, Inverse Recovery, CMPG and NOESY experiments have been applied. The combination of ^1H and CMPG experiments was found to quickly and consistently yield information on both sample state and on-going processes, even under rapidly changing conditions. As such, these experiments might be useful for monitoring changing hydrate samples, and can possibly be further applied to hydrates in a range of different environments. The Inverse Recovery and NOESY experiments were found lacking, and will require improvements in order to be useful. Several shortcomings in the established procedures have also been pinpointed, and possible solutions have been outlined. | en_US |
