A consistent and verifiable macroscopic model for the dissolution of liquid CO 2 in water under hydrate forming conditions

Abstract

Direct injection of liquid CO 2 into the ocean has been proposed as one method to reduce the emission levels of CO 2 into the atmosphere. When liquid CO 2 is injected (normally as droplets) at ocean depths >500 m, a solid interfacial region between the CO 2 and the water is observed to form. This region consists of hydrate clathrates and hinders the rate of dissolution of CO 2. It is, therefore, expected to have a significant impact on the injection of liquid CO 2 into the ocean. Up until now, no consistent and predictive model for the shrinking of droplets of CO 2 under hydrate forming conditions has been proposed. This is because all models proposed to date have had too many unknowns. By computing rates of the physical and chemical processes in hydrates via molecular dynamics simulations, we have been able to determine independently some of these unknowns. We then propose the most reasonable model and use it to make independent predictions of the rates of mass transfer and thickness of the hydrate region. These predictions are compared to measurements, and implications to the rates of shrinkage of CO 2 droplets under varying flow conditions are discussed.