Exploring thermodynamic viable conditions for separation of highly energy intensive H2O and D2O mixtures through gas hydrate based process
Lagnajita Paul,
Ju Dong Lee,
Praveen Linga and
Rajnish Kumar
Applied Energy, 2024, vol. 368, issue C, No S0306261924008985
Abstract:
The separation of heavy water (D2O) from light water (H2O) is an energy-intensive process. Heavy water is primarily used in nuclear reactors but has vast applications in medical and biological investigations. This paper comprehensively investigates suitable thermodynamic conditions for separating heavy water from light water using gas hydrates. Gas hydrates, which are crystalline structures made up of water and gas molecules, have drawn much interest because of their usage to separate gas mixtures. In this work, however, using high-pressure Differential Scanning Calorimetry, different thermodynamic phase boundaries of hydrate formation from the liquid mixture of D2O and H2O were explored for preferential separation of D2O as solid hydrates. Utilizing a laboratory scale, high-pressure reactor differences in the kinetics of hydrate growth using heavy water and light water were also investigated, thus clearly showing that the hydrate formation and dissociation process could be utilized for separating the two water isotopes. In this work, hydrates were formed at 278.15 K using methane & natural gas to understand the thermodynamic phase behavior of these hydrates. Since kinetics and morphology of hydrate formation are also crucial for a scale-up, comparing two different types of hydrate former will help understand the behavior better. The results of this study contribute to the fundamental understanding of thermal behavior and the kinetics of hydrate formation of light and heavy water. The comparative analysis of DSC thermograms provides valuable insights into the effects of isotopic substitution on the phase transitions of water.
Keywords: Gas hydrate; Heavy water; Light water; Energy transition; Nuclear reactor; Nuclear emission; Circular economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261924008985
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:368:y:2024:i:c:s0306261924008985
Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic
DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123515
Access Statistics for this article
Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan
More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().