PFI-TT: Carbon dioxide hydrates-based storage of carbon on the seabed

这一创新伙伴关系-技术转化项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种新技术并随后将其商业化，以在海床上隔离二氧化碳。越来越多的人一致认为，要将地球气温上升限制在1.5摄氏度以内，需要进行千兆级的碳去除。向地下储存库注入二氧化碳是工业规模封存的主要选择；然而，它存在一些重大问题，如合适的水库有限，有渗漏的风险，以及需要广泛的监测。该项目的成功将有助于将美国定位为应对气候变化的领导者。这项研究将增加目前有限的解决方案组合来处理过量的二氧化碳。在教育方面，该项目将为博士后、研究生和本科生提供创业和技术培训。德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校是一所西班牙裔服务机构（HSI），它现有的项目将用于从服务不足的社区招收学生。拟议项目的目标是应用研究一种将二氧化碳以水合物形式封存在海床上的技术。另一种封存方法是二氧化碳水合物，它是二氧化碳和水的冰状固体。拟议的技术涉及水合物的快速形成，将其密封在基质中（以防止分解），以及海底处置，并注意到海底为水合物的存在提供了自然发生的稳定环境。本项目将开展应用研究，以降低该技术的两个方面的风险。首先，将通过材料测试确定最合适的、商业上可用的密封水合物的材料。其次，将研究不纯二氧化碳流和海水中水合物的形成。该提案的结果将为未来的现场试验奠定基础，为商业化铺平道路。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is the development and subsequent commercialization of a new technology to sequester carbon dioxide on the seabed. There is growing consensus that gigascale carbon removal will be needed to limit the Earth’s temperature rise to less than 1.5 ºC. Injection of carbon dioxide in underground reservoirs is the primary industrial scale option for sequestration; However it has significant issues associated with limited suitable reservoirs, risk of leakages and extensive monitoring requirements. Success of this project will contribute to positioning the US as a leader in the fight against climate change. The research will add to the currently limited portfolio of solutions for dealing with excess carbon dioxide. On the education front, this project will provide entrepreneurship as well as technical training to a postdoc and graduate and undergraduate students. Existing programs at the University of Texas at Austin, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), will be used to recruit students from underserved communities. The proposed project targets applied research on a technology to sequester carbon dioxide on the seabed as hydrates. An alternative sequestration option is carbon dioxide hydrates, which are ice-like solids of carbon dioxide and water. The proposed technology involves rapid formation of hydrates, sealing them in a matrix (to prevent dissociation), and seabed disposal, noting that the seabed provides a naturally occurring, stable environment for hydrates to exist. This project will conduct applied research to de-risk two aspects of this technology. First, the most appropriate, commercially available material for sealing hydrates will be identified by testing of materials. Second, hydrate formation from impure carbon dioxide streams and seawater will be studied. Results from this proposal will set the stage for future field trials, paving the way to commercialization.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.