Carbon Capture and Storage Toward Industrialization: A Novel Continuous Process for the Production of Carbon Dioxide Clathrates

• Published in: Energy technology (Weinheim, Germany) Germany), 2022-06, Vol.10 (6), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Costa, Marcelo F., Teixeira, Carlos M., Lopes, Armandina M., Araújo, João P., Dias, Madalena M., Santos, Ricardo J., Lopes, José Carlos B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon sequestration; Clathrates; Continuous production; Crystallization; Cubic lattice; Gas hydrates; Heat transfer; Hydrates; Industrial development; Industrialization; Mass transfer; mixing; NetMIX; New technology; Slurries; Specific heat
• ISSN: 2194-4288; 2194-4296
• DOI: 10.1002/ente.202100950

Gas hydrates have been potentially recognized for developing new technologies for CO2 capture and storage; however, the respective industrialization faces difficulties. Hydrate's crystallization is highly exothermic, 1.3 kJ tonne−1 of captured CO2, and it only occurs in a narrow window of temperatures, typically 1–5 °C. Previous works have systematically reported low space–time yields (STY) due to low specific heat and mass transfer rates of the technologies tested. Herein, NetMIX, a novel mixing technology, is used for the continuous production of CO2 hydrates. NetMIX is a structured mixer consisting of a network of unit cells comprising mixing chambers interconnected by channels. The device used here has specific heat transfer rates ranging from 107 to 108 W m − 3  °C − 1 . The setup proves to be capable of producing hydrates at a STY of 200 tonne h − 1 m − 3 , two orders of magnitude larger than other technologies, resulting in a slurry with more than 20 wt% of CO2 inside the hydrates lattice. The solid is characterized, and a cubic structure I (sI) hydrate structure is detected, with no ice traces. Moreover, results indicate that the process is stable, and no plugging occurs, crucial for industrialization. Herein, the application of the novel mixing technology, NetMIX, for the continuous production of CO2 hydrates is studied. NetMIX proves to have excellent heat and mass transfer capacities, and when applied to produce CO2 hydrates, it can achieve space–time yields two orders of magnitude larger than competing technologies. This can be the first step toward carbon capture and storage industrialization.