A Review of CO 2 Clathrate Hydrate Technology: From Lab-Scale Preparation to Cold Thermal Energy Storage Solutions

Sai Bhargav Annavajjala, Noah Van Dam, Devinder Mahajan and Jan Kosny ()
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Sai Bhargav Annavajjala: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Noah Van Dam: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Devinder Mahajan: Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
Jan Kosny: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-51

Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) clathrate hydrate is gaining attention as a promising material for cold thermal energy storage (CTES) due to its high energy storage capacity and low environmental footprint. It shows strong potential in building applications, where space cooling accounts for nearly 40% of total energy use and over 85% of electricity demand in developed countries. CO 2 hydrates are also being explored for use in refrigeration, cold chain logistics, supercomputing, biomedical cooling, and defense systems. With the growing number of applications in mind, this review focuses on the thermal behavior of CO 2 hydrates and their environmental impact. It highlights recent efforts to reduce formation pressure and temperature using chemical promoters and surfactants. This paper also reviews key experimental techniques used to study hydrate properties, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-pressure differential scanning calorimetry (HP-DSC), and the T-history method. In lifecycle comparisons, CO 2 hydrate systems show better energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions than traditional ice or other phase-change materials (PCMs). This review also discusses current commercialization challenges such as high energy input during formation and promoter toxicity. Finally, practical strategies to move CO 2 hydrate-based CTES from lab-scale studies to real-world cooling and temperature control applications are discussed.

Keywords: energy demands; cold thermal energy storage; hydrate formation; promoters; characterization techniques; lifecycle analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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