EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CO2 HYDRATE FORMATION IN THE PRESENCE OF ZN-AL LDH NANOFLUID

The rise in energy demand increases CO2 emission in the atmosphere and has become a global problem. Hydrate-based CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) are an innovative method for reducing atmospheric CO2. The present study investigates the effect of Zn-Al LDH nanofluid concentrations on the kinetics of CO2 hydrate formation. Zn-Al LDH nanofluid is synthesized using the co-precipitation method using zinc, aluminum, and sodium nitrate salt. The hydrate formation experiments are conducted at 275.15 K temperature, 3.0 MPa initial pressure, and 300 RPM. In the present study, four different Zn-Al LDH nanofluid concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt%) have been tested to evaluate the kinetics of CO2 hydrate formation, and the results are compared to the base case (DI water). The parameters studied in the present work are the CO2 pressure profile and induction time of hydrate formation. CO2 pressure continuously decreases during the experiment due to the participation of CO2 molecules in the hydrate formation process. The results show that the presence of LDH nanofluid reduces induction time more than DI water. LDH nanoparticles provide more surface contact area for hydrate formation, facilitating more CO2 molecules to participate in the hydrate formation process in the presence of LDH nanofluid. The maximum induction time is reduced by 68.7% compared to the DI water in the presence of the 0.5 wt% LDH nanofluid. The results show that the CO2 hydrate formation kinetics enhances in the presence of the Zn-Al LDH nanofluid.