Clathrate Hydrates for CO2 Capture and H2 Storage

Abstract

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is currently known to surpass 400 parts per millions, and is considered responsible for global climate change. To cope with the severe concern, initiatives to deploy renewable energy sources and their sustainable use have expanded in many countries. Among the options, hydrogen (H2) has received particular attention in the past decade as an alternative energy carrier to conventional fossil fuels. Ultimately H2 will be produced via sustainable methods such as water electrolysis technology integrated with renewable energies. However, at present, most H2 production relies on the carbon-intensive processes of fossil fuels. To bridge the gap between future direction and current situation for H2 production, blue hydrogen is considered, which is made by integrating carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies with conventional fossil fuels. As an option to integrate CCS in the fossil fuel-based H2 production process, clathrate hydrates are focused. Clathrate hydrates are non-stoichiometric crystalline compound composed of host-water and gaseous guest molecules, and they inherently exhibit distinct inclusion behavior of the guest molecules depending on thermodynamic conditions. Here, thermodynamic and kinetic properties of clathrate hydrates in the presence of H2/CO2 is explored for the separation application. The strategy for H2 storage using clathrate hydrates is also investigated.