High-Performance of Gas Hydrates in Confined Nanospace for Reversible CH₄/CO₂Storage

The molecular exchange of CH₄for CO₂in gas hydrates grown in confined nanospace has been evaluated for the first time using activated carbons as a host structure. The nano-confinement effects taking place inside the carbon cavities and the exceptional physicochemical properties of the carbon structure allows us to accelerate the formation and decomposition process of the gas hydrates from the conventional timescale of hours/days in artificial bulk systems to minutes in confined nanospace. The CH₄/CO₂exchange process is fully reversible with high efficiency at practical temperature and pressure conditions. Furthermore, these activated carbons can be envisaged as promising materials for long-distance natural gas and CO₂transportation because of the combination of a high storage capacity, a high reversibility, and most important, with extremely fast kinetics for gas hydrate formation and release.