Tasks

 I will learn about material properties of semiclathrate hydrates

 I will learn about synthesis of semiclathrate hydrates
 I will read papers about simulation for gas separation
 I will identify research gaps related to this topic

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Tasks

 I will learn about material properties of semiclathrate hydrates

 I will learn about synthesis of semiclathrate hydrates
 I will read papers about simulation for gas separation
 I will identify research gaps related to this topic
All tasks have been completed

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Material Properties of Semiclathrate Hydrates
 Clathrates is a class of substance characterised by the presence of a lattice structure
that traps or contains molecules
 Semiclathrate hydrates are crystalline host-guest compounds formed from water and
ionic/nonionic substances such as ammonia and ammonium salts
 Space-filling framework of face-sharing small and large cages formed between water
molecules bonded via hydrogen bonds; anions are also involved in formation of lattice
 Cations are guest molecules and are trapped in large cavities leaving small cages
vacant for gas molecules to be trapped
 Typically stable under 300K and 1 atm (depending on concentration of supporting anion)

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Synthesis of Semiclathrate Hydrates
 Neutralisation reaction occurs between aquesous solutions of glycine (glycolic acid) and
ammonium/phonium hydroxide to form ammonium/phonium glycine
 Obtained aqueous solution is refined by crystallisation to acquire semiclathrate hydrate
crystals
 Classical method to prepare glycine is by employing reaction between monochloroacetic
acid and ammonia; however, there are more efficient pathways
 Synthesis described above is an example for preparation of semiclathrate hydrates
without guest substances which are used for study of their properties
 In practice, semiclathrate hydrates are often formed using water and ionic/non-ionic
compound required for formation of cage-structured lattice along with a gas mixture that
requires separation such that gas is trapped upon formation of semiclathrate hydrates

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Simulation for Gas Separation

 Souce of gas mixtures can be fuel gas for gasification (CO2 + H2) , biogas (CO2 + CH4),
flue gas from combustion plants and steelmaking plants (CO2 + N2); the main goal is to
capture CO2 in order to reduce greenhouse gas emission
 Inlet gas composition can be modelled using data retrieved from real-life plants
 Specific conditions exist for CO2 outlet gas for safe storage
 Heat exchangers, compressors and valves are required to achieve desired conditions
 Semiclathrate hydrate solid/liquid mixture directly produced from reaction needs to go
through a series of crystallisation to form final product
 Effectiveness of gas capture depends on operating pressure; harmless gas should be
released when most of the harmful gas has been captured and harmful gas will undergo
further treatment at a later stage following hydrate dissociation
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Potential Research Gaps

 Possibility of using semiclathrate hydrates for a plant that requires gas

separation and produces waste heat at the same time
 Efficient collection and transportation of waste heat
 New study on thermodynamic hydrate equilibrium of gas mixtures (effect
of adding a compound to aid formation of semiclathrate hydrates)
 Effects of different types of reactors and operating conditions

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Tasks for next time

The tasks that I think that I should be working on in the next week are:
 I will define aims and objectives of my project
 I will define scope of my project
 I will write a draft for risk assessment