A biomimetic red blood cell inspired encapsulation design for advanced hydrate-based carbon capture

Journal article (2023)

Authors

Yuxuan Zhang Australian National University
Xiaoqiang Zhai Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Fengyuan Zhang Australian National University
Zhongbin Zhang Nanjing Normal University
K. Hooman Process and Energy
Hai Zhang Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Xiaolin Wang Australian National University
Department
Process and Energy
Copyright: © 2023 Yuxuan Zhang, Xiaoqiang Zhai, Fengyuan Zhang, Zhongbin Zhang, K. Hooman, Hai Zhang, Xiaolin Wang
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2023.126985
Heat and mass transfer Hydrate formation kinetics Hydrate-based carbon capture Red blood cell
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

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Department

Process and Energy

Abstract

Enhancing gas-liquid mass transfer is key to promote gas hydrate formation kinetics. Encapsulation of CO2 hydrate is expected to dramatically increase gas-liquid contact to enhance mass transfer. However, gas hydrate encapsulation has never been proposed as the technical issues of gas permeation through capsule shells have never been addressed. In this work, based on the principles of biomimetics, we proposed a novel red blood cell (RBC) inspired carbon capture capsule to promote CO2 hydrate formation kinetics. An experimentally validated model is established to compare the carbon capture performance in an RBC-shaped and a spherical capsule. It is revealed that the gas uptake efficiency of the RBC-shaped capsule is 143% higher than that of the spherical one. The effect of initial pressure and capsule size on CO2 hydrate formation kinetics is also investigated. Furthermore, the structure of RBC is optimised and it is found the average amount of hydrate formation per surface area achieves a peak when the ratio of the height at the centre to the width of the ring is between 0.128 and 0.160, which is close to that of real RBCs in human bodies. This work enables the informed design of hydrate-based carbon capture units with high gas uptake efficiency.