Abstract
CO2 microbubbles show significant potential in carbon capture and storage (CCS) through enhancing CO2 dissolution and improving the residual trapping mechanism. To take full advantage of microbubbles, maximizing their generation by selecting the optimal operational conditions, including injection pressure and flow rate, is essential. In this study, we examined a wide range of experimental conditions to quantitatively evaluate the potential of a porous ceramic membrane for producing CO2 microbubbles in a chemical-free manner. In particular, the effects of injection pressure (5.0–10.0 MPa) and CO2 flow rate (0.25–5 mL/min) on mean bubble diameter (DMB) and microbubble yield efficiency (YMB) were systematically investigated through image analysis technique. Results suggest that increasing injection pressures significantly enhances the chance of microbubble generation. At pressures ≥ 8.33 MPa and all examined flow rates, 98–100 % of bubbles were within the microbubble range (10–100 µm), compared to only 12 % at 5.0 MPa and 5.0 mL/min. Also, DMB decreased from 106 µm at 5.0 MPa to 17 µm at 10.0 MPa, at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. In contrast, increasing the injection flow rate produced larger bubbles; however, its effect diminished at higher pressures, where YMB remained near 100 %, regardless of flow rate. Furthermore, the optimized condition was determined to be at a pressure of 10.00 MPa and a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The developed framework in this research eliminates the need for chemical materials, e.g., surfactants or polymers, leading to a cost-effective and environmentally friendly CO2 microbubbles generation, which can potentially be applicable in CCS, EOR, and various other industries.
Keywords
carbon sequestration, CCS, CO₂ microbubbles, Image analysis
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2-1-2026
Article Number
121053
ISSN
22132929
Volume
14
Issue
1
Publication Title
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Publisher
Elsevier
School
Centre for Sustainable Energy and Resources / School of Engineering
RAS ID
99408
Funding Information
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding and technical support provided by CO2CRC Ltd. for this project.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Jalilian, M., Matamba, T., Tang, D., Keshavarz, A., & Iglauer, S. (2026). Optimization of pressure and flow rate for CO2 microbubble generation using porous ceramic membrane: Insights for CO₂ geological storage. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 14(1), Article 121053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2026.121053