Zeolitic ice: A route toward net zero emissions

In COP 26, the international community reaffirmed its ambitious targets to reduce carbon emission to mitigate climate change according to Paris Agreement. To achieve that target, a proper combination of energy efficiency and integration of renewables should be applied to ensure a smooth energy transition that balances the increasing demand and environmental commitments. Natural gas can work as a transition fuel between the polluting fossil fuels, and zero-emission renewables such as hydrogen. Carbon capture and sequestration is another important aspect that allows reducing already existing and future carbon emissions that arise from industrial processes. However, the storage and purification of natural gas, CO2 and H2 is still challenging and represents an overhead cost that slows down the energy transition process. This review discusses the use of “zeolitic ice” or clathrate hydrates as an environmentally benign material to help the energy transition process. Having structural topologies and properties that are identical to some zeolites and zeolitic clathrasils, those green materials showed unique properties that enable their utilization in different purposes related to the energy transition, such as gas separation, desalination, fuel cells, and others. The review especially focuses on their possible role to purify and safely store gases such as CH4, CO2, and H2, which are in the heart of energy transition. Amongst the objectives of the overview is to present different possible uses of clathrates, their benchmark against existing technologies, and the possibility to integrate them into current technologies with special focus on their application for energy storage and CCS.