Interdisciplinary results of an Italian research project on methane recovery and carbon dioxide storage in natural gas hydrate reservoirs
Beatrice Castellani,
Rita Giovannetti,
Umberta Tinivella,
Salvatore F. Cannone,
Roberto Fazioli,
Fabio Trippetta,
Michele Ciulla,
Valentino Canale,
Pietro Di Profio,
Alberto Maria Gambelli,
Andrea Nicolini,
Giorgio Minelli,
Massimiliano Barchi,
Marco Zannotti,
Andrea Rossi,
Michela Giustiniani,
Andrea Lanzini,
Massimo Santarelli,
Federico Rossi
Affiliations
Beatrice Castellani
Department of Engineering, CIRIAF, University of Perugia, Perugia 06125, Italy; Corresponding author.
Rita Giovannetti
School of Science and Technology, Chemistry Division, ChIP Research Center, University of Camerino, Camerino 62032, Italy
Umberta Tinivella
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, Sgonico 34010, Italy
Salvatore F. Cannone
Energy Department (DENERG), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino 10129, Italy
Roberto Fazioli
Department of Economics, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44121, Italy
Fabio Trippetta
Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
Michele Ciulla
Department of Pharmacy, University of Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio”, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66010, Italy
Valentino Canale
Department of Pharmacy, University of Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio”, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66010, Italy
Pietro Di Profio
Department of Pharmacy, University of Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio”, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66010, Italy
Alberto Maria Gambelli
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 93, Perugia 06125, Italy
Andrea Nicolini
Department of Engineering, CIRIAF, University of Perugia, Perugia 06125, Italy
Giorgio Minelli
Interuniversity Center for Research on 3D-Seismotectonics (Centro InterRUniversitario per l’Analisi SismoTettonica tridimensionale con applicazioni territoriali –CRUST), Chieti Scalo 66100, Italy; Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, Perugia 06125, Italy
Massimiliano Barchi
Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, Perugia 06125, Italy
Marco Zannotti
School of Science and Technology, Chemistry Division, ChIP Research Center, University of Camerino, Camerino 62032, Italy
Andrea Rossi
School of Science and Technology, Chemistry Division, ChIP Research Center, University of Camerino, Camerino 62032, Italy
Michela Giustiniani
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, Sgonico 34010, Italy
Andrea Lanzini
Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
Massimo Santarelli
Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
Federico Rossi
Department of Engineering, CIRIAF, University of Perugia, Perugia 06125, Italy
Natural gas hydrates (NGH) are found in marine sediments on continental and island slopes, deep-water sediments of inland lakes and seas, and polar sediments on continents and continental shelves. NGH constitutes the largest hydrocarbon resource on Earth, representing a reservoir of sustainable fuel owing to the possibility of a so-called CO2–CH4 replacement process. If CO2 is injected into NGH sediments, CH4 is released and CO2 hydrate formed. The extraction of gas from NGH, combined with carbon capture, presents significant potential advantages in the energy infrastructure and various economic and political contexts, aligning with future green policies. This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge by reviewing the findings of a three-year Italian research project focused on methane recovery and carbon dioxide disposal in NGH. The consortium comprises seven multidisciplinary Italian partners. This study introduces a novel process wherein the CO2–CH4 replacement process is integrated with methane purification and CO2 recirculation, which has been experimentally tested and represents a new advancement in gas hydrate science. Experimental tests at the microscopic and macroscopic levels showed that the efficiency of the process strongly depends on the mutual influence of the properties of water, sediment, and the involved gaseous species. Energy evaluations show that the ratio between the energy spent to complete an entire cycle of replacement and recirculation over the stored energy in the recovered methane is 17%, resulting in a beneficial energy balance, while economic analysis shows that the transition could generate—even in the short term—large high-impact cash-out.
