Critical Review on Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Potentiality in Methane Hydrate Reservoirs via CO 2 –CH 4 Exchange: Experiments, Simulations, and Pilot Test Applications

Many researchers have investigated the potential of methane hydrate reservoirs (MHRs) for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sequestration and methane (CH 4 ) production through the CO 2 –CH 4 replacement method. This technique is not yet commercially implemented due to various limitations, especially economic reasons. This study investigated recent advancements in MHRs potentiality for CO 2 sequestration through CO 2 or mixed gas exchange injection while recovering CH 4 . From the experiments, modeling, and simulations, and one pilot test conducted, it was found that there is a great potentiality of sequestrating CO 2 in MHRs while recovering CH 4 . In addition, it was revealed that to produce more CH 4, the nitrogen/hydrogen (N 2 /H 2 ) mole fraction in the injector gas stream should be more significant than that in CO 2, while to sequestrate more CO 2, the CO 2 mole fraction in the injector gas stream should be greater than the N 2 /H 2 mole fraction. The CO 2 –mixture gases mole fraction ratio recommended from one successful pilot test conducted was 23:77 (CO 2 /N 2 ), which revealed that approximately 60% of injected CO 2 was sequestrated with 855 × 10 3 standard cubic feet of CH 4 produced. The challenges identified in this review will urge researchers to explore suitable technologies to conduct more pilot tests and pave the way toward entire field operations on CO 2 sequestration in MHRs toward decarbonization.