THE EFFECT OF CO2-HYDRATES ON DEEP-OCEAN CARBON-DIOXIDE DEPOSITION OPTIONS

CO2 hydrate formation is expected to have significant influence on all deep ocean CO2 deposition options. This paper focus on two aspects of this theme. First, a discussion on the formation and stability of CO2 hydrates from a thermodynamic point of view is done. Second, the result from that microscale study is applied on the macroscale phenomena involved in spreading and solution of large amounts of CO2 in the ocean. The paper concludes that hydrate formation will have an inhibiting effect on the spreading of CO2 in deep oceans, and make deep ocean deposition of CO2 an option to be seriously considered. However, more studies and experiments are required to elucidate features around hydrate behaviour and fluid-dynamic phenomenon. It is also necessary to do chemical and mechanical calculations in order to estimate the technical and economical feasibility of the various options for ocean CO2 deposition.