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Title: Method and apparatus for efficient injection of CO2 in oceans

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1174415

A liquid CO.sub.2 injection system produces a negatively buoyant consolidated stream of liquid CO.sub.2, CO.sub.2 hydrate, and water that sinks upon release at ocean depths in the range of 700-1500 m. In this approach, seawater at a predetermined ocean depth is mixed with the liquid CO.sub.2 stream before release into the ocean. Because mixing is conducted at depths where pressures and temperatures are suitable for CO.sub.2 hydrate formation, the consolidated stream issuing from the injector is negatively buoyant, and comprises mixed CO.sub.2 -hydrate/CO.sub.2 -liquid/water phases. The "sinking" characteristic of the produced stream will prolong the metastability of CO.sub.2 ocean sequestration by reducing the CO.sub.2 dissolution rate into water. Furthermore, the deeper the CO.sub.2 hydrate stream sinks after injection, the more stable it becomes internally, the deeper it is dissolved, and the more dispersed is the resulting CO.sub.2 plume. These factors increase efficiency, increase the residence time of CO2 in the ocean, and decrease the cost of CO.sub.2 sequestration while reducing deleterious impacts of free CO.sub.2 gas in ocean water.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
Assignee:
UT-Battelle, LLC (Oak Ridge, TN)
Patent Number(s):
6,598,407
Application Number:
09/981,126
OSTI ID:
1174415
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (5)

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Advanced CO2 ocean dissolution technology for longer term sequestration with minimum biological impacts book January 1999
Near field impacts of reduced pH from ocean CO2 disposal journal January 1997
A new experimental facility for investigating the formation and properties of gas hydrates under simulated seafloor conditions journal January 2001
A new ocean disposal scenario for anthropogenic CO2: CO2 hydrate formation in a submerged crystallizer and its disposal journal January 2000