Carbon Dioxide Capture By Gas Hydrate Based Technology

With the increase in industrial as well as urban growth, there has been a momentous escalation in the emissions of greenhouse gases, in which carbon dioxide is foremost in the list. Although, carbon dioxide can be recycled back into the bio-system naturally, there is massive gap in the natural process of carbon sequestration and the rate of emissions. Additionally, a direct correlation between the carbon dioxide emissions and global warming has been established. It has been estimated that by the end of this century, the earth’s temperature would rise by a margin of 4⁰C, which will have a catastrophic impact on the entire biosphere. One option could be to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from use of fossil fuel and identify an ecologically feasible method for clean energy generation. The other option which is more practical is to sequester the emitted carbon dioxide from the anthropogenic source. Storing of carbon dioxide as hydrates in permafrost and oceanic region over the world is an innovative technique of carbon capture and storage. Temperature and pressure condition which exist under the sea bed is conducive for hydrate growth and gaseous CO₂ which is otherwise mobile can be sequestered in solid hydrate form for ever. We carried out the experimental studies in laboratory setup consisting of temperature controlled high pressure autoclave to study the thermodynamic and kinetic feasibility. One of the objective was to enhance the hydrate formation kinetics by supplying a suitable additive with CO₂. The kinetics of the carbon dioxide capture can be enhanced by using suitable additives and one need not wait for geological time scale for CO₂ hydrate formation and sequestration.