ORNL Carbon Sequestration Work Noted in IPCC Report:

Development and testing of ocean carbon sequestration performed by ORNL, with collaborators from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, has been highlighted in the recent IPCC report “Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” chapter 6, page 287.

This work, which has involved the invention, development, and field testing of an ORNL-devised injector and process for the continuous formation of sinking solid composites that contain carbon dioxide hydrates, has been described in two publications that appeared in the open literature this month:

Szymcek, P., S.D. McCallum, P. Taboada-Serrano, and C. Tsouris, “A Pilot-Scale Continuous-Jet Hydrate Reactor,” Chemical Engineering Journal, 135, 71-77 (2008).

Tsouris, C., P. Szymcek, P. Taboada-Serrano, S. D. McCallum, P. Brewer, E. Peltzer, P. Walz, E. Adams, and A. Chow, W. K. Johnson, and J. Summers, “Scaled-up Ocean Injection of CO2-Hydrate Composite Particles,” Energy & Fuels, 21, 3300-3309 (2007).

The first paper describes an intensified reactor that is used to produce a continuous stream of CO2 hydrate, while the second describes the results of the field experiments.

Point of Contact: Costas Tsouris, 241-3246, tsourisc@ornl.gov