I-Corps: CO2 hydrate production for large-scale CO2 sequestration

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of technology to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) as CO2 hydrates. CO2 hydrates are ice-like solids, consisting of CO2 and water. Stable CO2 hydrates form at ~0 ̊C, and at moderate pressures (~450 psi) from a mixture of CO2 and water. CO2 hydrates can be safely sequestered long-term via multiple options (under seabed, under permafrost, depleted gas fields). This I-Corps project targets eventual commercialization of CO2 hydrates-based carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Many commercialization partners exist among process industries, oil-gas industry, and utilities. A likely post-project scenario involves establishing a startup company as the commercialization vehicle (which develops sector-specific CCS solutions). Successful commercialization may lead to significant employment opportunities, and contribute to positioning the US as a leader in this field. Most importantly, it will augment the portfolio of technological and geoengineering solutions to tackle climate change. This project also will stimulate other applications of gas hydrates including desalination, gas separation and hydrogen storage.This I-Corps project is based on the development of technology to rapidly form CO2 hydrates from a mixture of CO2 and water. Key technological challenges underlying artificial synthesis of hydrates have been very slow growth rates, and low conversion rates of gas to hydrates. State of the art technology to speed up hydrate formation includes the use of chemical promoters, which are expensive and environmentally friendly. The team at UT Austin has made several scientific discoveries and developed multiple novel approaches to speed up growth of hydrates, which may cumulatively speed up hydrate formation by an order of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art. Specific novel advancements integrated in the proposed technology include recently discovered hydrate nucleation promoters, a technique to enhance gas-liquid interfacial area and convection, and the use of high thermal conductivity materials to speed up heat transfer. Cumulatively, these advancements may enable rapid, on-demand CO2 hydrate production without the use of chemical promoters. The intellectual merit of this project lies in the integration of multiple fundamental advancements to realize rapid hydrate formation in reactor configurations commonly used by the chemicals processing industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.