Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis (OARO) is a membrane-based technique for energy-efficient desalination of hypersaline water streams. By extending the analogy between a double-stream heat exchanger and an OARO mass exchanger, a design method was developed to quantify the membrane area (S) required for an OARO stage, given inlet fluid conditions and rated freshwater recovery (RR). The derived closed-form solution incorporates factors like non-ideal solution properties, non-ideally rejecting membranes, and concentration polarization without necessitating additional numerical models. The overall modeling framework was validated with 6.1 % error, significantly reducing computational demand compared to numerical OARO process simulations. Analogous to heat exchangers, membrane area for OARO stage with fixed feed and draw solution inlet conditions increases exponentially with RR. Sizing of OARO for hypersaline feeds (75-200 g/L) was affected by osmotic pressure nonlinearity and concentration polarization. Maximum OARO conditions yielded RRmax = 0.55-0.62, S = 794-1243 m2, and specific energy consumption of 1.73 kWh/m3-permeate for feed conditions of 1 kg/s and 75-200 g/L. Comparing maximum performance of a hypersaline OARO stage with multiple hypothetical desalination scenarios, the requirement for draw solution concentration to be less than feed concentration emerged as a critical limitation. This criterion restricted RRmax for OARO by 36.5 % compared to ideal hypersaline desalination, limiting pure water extraction for a given hypersaline feed. The membrane structural parameter was crucial in mitigating concentration polarization and reducing OARO membrane area requirement while enhancing flexibility for improved performance. Overall, this modeling approach can be used to design hypersaline OARO desalination systems for industrial brine management.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrates offer unexplored avenues for applications like long-term carbon sequestration, gas separation and desalination. CO2 hydrates are ice-like solids of water and CO2 that form near freezing temperatures and moderate pressures. Recent work from this group reported ultrafast formation of CO2 hydrates in a bubble column reactor using magnesium as a passive nucleation promoter. While our past studies utilized pure CO2, we presently study hydrate formation from binary mixtures of CO2 and nitrogen at three CO2 concentrations (15, 50 and 90 mol%). We report sequestration rates as high as 1200 g h−1 L−1 MPa−1 with 90% CO2, which is within 6% of those achieved with pure CO2. Such high formation rates with impure CO2 vastly improve techno-economics since purification of CO2 is energy and cost intensive. Significantly, we achieve high rates with synthetic ocean water, noting that salt content has an inhibiting effect on hydrate formation. This eliminates the need for desalination further improving techno-economics. Our use of sub-millimetric bubbles for sparging increases the density of hydrates formed and the conversion of CO2 gas into hydrate. Importantly, near-instantaneous (less than 1 second) nucleation occurred with 50 and 90% CO2 concentrations. Additionally, we use machine learning (ML) to train and evaluate 2 algorithms (Random Forest, RF, and Extreme Gradient Boosting, XGBoost) to predict the hydrate CO2 composition based on feed CO2 composition, pressure, and temperature. XGBoost outperforms RF with an overall coefficient of determination (R2) of 99.5%.

Global research uses nano- and microparticles to produce innovative insulation for winding insulation, electromobility, anticorona paint, transformer insulation, and bushings. Scientific, multifunctional research on materials provided the engineering data required to design manufacturable insulation. This article overviews the holistic approach needed to successfully develop insulation materials by examining specific insulation systems from recent research.

Hydrate-based gas separation (HBGS) is emerging as an alternative to conventional, energy-intensive CO2 capture. While research has focused on materials and process-level advances, deployment requires favorable techno-economic (TEA) and life cycle assessments (LCA). This work critically reviews hydrate-based CO2 capture from industrial gas mixtures (CO2/N2 and CO2/H2) by: (i) compiling performance data from over 30 experimental studies using consistent metrics, including normalized CO2 consumption rate and CO2 consumed per unit mass of chemical additive, to enable cross-study comparison; (ii) benchmarking HBGS techno-economics against MEA absorption and other established technologies; and (iii) examining environmental dimensions through a screening-level assessment, rather than a full ISO 14044 impact assessment, providing indicative, order-of-magnitude energy-based estimates and identifying critical research gaps. HBGS achieves significant CO2 separation factors, with thermodynamic promoters (THF, TBAB) enabling milder operating conditions at the cost of reduced gas storage capacity. Reported capture costs range from 25 to 145 $/t CO2, the lower end corresponding to hydrate slurry production from pure CO2 and the upper end to integrated separation systems; these overlap the 40–120 $/t CO2 reported for MEA-based capture. Compression and refrigeration dominate both capital and operating expenditures. Indicative estimates suggest the GHG footprint depends strongly on electricity carbon intensity, with low-carbon sources or waste cold from LNG regasification most favorable. However, no dedicated LCA of HBGS separation from gas mixtures has been published, which we identify as the most critical research gap for informing technology selection. Key challenges include slow formation kinetics, inefficient hydrate-brine separation, and limited pilot-scale validation.

Recent research shows that a five-time enhancement in through-plane thermal conductivity of the oil-paper insulation in transformers can double their life by decreasing hotspot temperatures. This can be achieved by developing novel insulation paper with improved through-plane thermal conductivity without compromising other key paper attributes such as dielectric breakdown strength, tensile strength, and thermal degradation rate. The present study broadens the design space for advanced transformer insulation paper with improved and balanced thermal, mechanical, and dielectric properties by incorporating turbostratic boron nitride (BN) particles. A simulation model based on Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) imaging was used to explain the dielectric breakdown strength and through-plane thermal conductivity enhancement of the proposed material. Depending on the material formulation, the proposed BN insulation paper has 2 to 3 times greater through-plane thermal conductivity, 20 %-30 % higher dielectric strength, 25 %-50 % greater tensile strength and approximately 30 % smaller relative permittivity than the commercial insulation paper with similar thermal degradation rates.

This study presents a techno-economic analysis of excess natural gas-powered produced water (PW) treatment for hydrogen production while enabling environmentally benign PW management. Conventional Mechanical Vapor Compression (MVC) and hybrid reverse osmosis (RO) coupled with MVC are analyzed for treatment of PW in the Permian Basin in Texas. Desalination systems are modeled to produce near-saturated concentrate (260,000 ppm) suitable for Zero-Liquid Discharge. Cost-optimal MVC with 2-stage compression achieves 65% freshwater recovery, has 41.6 kWh/m³-freshwater work input (Winp), and costs $19.5/m³-freshwater treatment for feeds with salinity 91,000 ppm (average salinity in Permian). Turbine (using excess gas) and MVC evaporator-related parameters significantly influence exergy distribution and cost. Hybrid desalination with initial dewatering by single-stage RO at 65 bar enables RO-MVC (cost-optimal) with 2-stage compression to yield 80% freshwater recovery, Winp = 25.1 kWh/m³, and $11.9/m³-freshwater cost for treating feeds with salinity 50,000 ppm. High cost sensitivity to MVC turbine and evaporator parameters is observed, with RO membrane and pretreatment costs also substantially contributing to techno-economics. Although excess gas-powered systems were 33% more expensive than grid-powered MVC and RO-MVC configurations, it was observed that desalination cost does not significantly impact (<15 cents/kg-H₂) hydrogen production cost. This highlights the economic viability of the proposed technological solution which incentivises clean energy focussed reclamation of oilfield waste. Overall, this study presents a detailed technoeconomic assessment of oilfield waste valorization for producing hydrogen via sustainable water-energy nexus and with a reduced environmental footprint.

Buildout of data centers for high-performance computing and AI has intensified energy demands, which commensurately increases freshwater requirements for thermal management. This study presents technical and techno-economic analyses of desalination systems to produce freshwater (Total dissolved solids <500 ppm) for data centers. Two-stage reverse osmosis (RO), Mechanical Vapor Compression (MVC), and hybrid configurations are evaluated for treatment of brackish (5,000 ppm), seawater (35,000 ppm), and produced water (≥50,000 ppm) feeds. Brine management is via conventional disposal or minimum to zero liquid discharge (MLD, ZLD). Freshwater recovery (FR), energy consumption (Winp), and water cost (WC) are quantified. Results show that transitioning from conventional disposal to MLD and ZLD increased FR by 4–220% across feed salinities, while Winp and WC rose more than 12% and 15%, respectively. Results show FR = 736 L/1000 kg-feed, Winp = 9.4 kWh/m³-permeate and WC = 3.2 $/m³-permeate for seawater hybrid RO-MVC-based treatment with MLD disposal. For MVC-based treatment (with MLD) of 50,000 ppm PW, we obtain FR = 753 L/1000 kg-feed, Winp = 36 kWh/m³-permeate and WC = 10.4 $/m³-permeate. A novel performance metric, Saline Water Utilization Intensity (SWUI) is introduced, which quantifies data center desalination impact on local water stress. Across representative conditions, SWUI increased from 2023-2030, spanning mild to substantial stress impacts. Higher recovery through MLD reduces SWUI by 40% in water-stressed settings, enabling effective water-resource utilization despite energy and cost tradeoffs. Overall, this study establishes a detailed modeling framework for sustainability-driven assessment of desalination-integrated data center infrastructure.

Growing energy demands and renewable integration are stressing the aging power grid infrastructure. Lignocellulosic oil-impregnated paper is widely used in power transformers but suffers from critical limitations, such as low dielectric strength, mechanical strength, and thermal conductivity, causing premature transformer failures. Here, we demonstrate a superior electrically insulating oil-impregnated paper design using the naturally anisotropic structure of densified wood veneer to achieve nanosized channels of oil that efficiently disrupt electrical breakdown pathways. The developed oil-impregnated densified wood (ODW) creates aligned cellulose fibers with 166 ± 87-nanometer oil nanochannels, achieving record dielectric strength of 105 kilovolts per millimeter. The structure also delivers a mechanical strength of up to 384 megapascals and a thermal conductivity of 0.33 watts per meter per kelvin, enabling enhanced longevity upon thermal aging tests. The ODW could replace conventional transformer insulation to enhance power transformer performance and improve lifetime. Moreover, its anisotropic oil-filled nanochannel design offers a general strategy for hybrid dielectrics in medium- and high-voltage applications.

This study is motivated at the development of a novel approach for long-term carbon sequestration as CO2 hydrates on the seabed (under marine sediments or with artificial sealing). Our approach involves rapid formation of CO2 hydrate foam, followed by compaction, sealing and disposal of hydrates. Hydrate formation kinetics and the techno-economics depends strongly on the thermodynamic (pressure, temperature) conditions. This study integrates in-house experimental results with a techno-economic model to study the impact of thermodynamic conditions on key techno-economic parameters including sequestration rate, sequestration factor, energetics, scale, cost/ton and initial investment for megaton (MT) projects. Experiments are conducted over a wide pressure-temperature space to quantify formation kinetics and other key technical parameters. Results feed into a techno-economic modeling framework, with the objective of identifying conditions which yield high scale and low cost. Results show that the cost per ton of hydrate formation stays within 17% of the mean cost, over a range of conditions. However, the scale of the sequestration project significantly depends on the conditions; it varied from 3-9 MT/yr. We note that such scales will be typical of future CCS projects. Forming hydrates at close-to liquid CO2 formation conditions favors sequestration, which is maximized at 9 Mton/yr. With the minimum cost for hydrate formation being 21 $/ton, the total cost for hydrates-based sequestration is between 21-31 $/ton. Importantly, all experiments were conducted with water with sodium chloride levels mimicking seawater. Overall, this study quantifies the costs and tradeoffs associated with scalable hydrate formation; and can enable optimization studies.

Gas hydrates-based carbon sequestration is an emerging and attractive approach towards scalable sequestration, and an alternative to the practice of reservoir injection. The present study examines the use of sub-millimetric bubbles for synthesizing carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrate slurries at very rapid rates. We report a 2x enhancement in CO2 sequestration rate (2.5 kg h- 1 L- 1 MPa- 1, based on gas consumption) which can be attributed to process intensification (enhanced interfacial area and mass transfer kinetics) achieved in a bubble column reactor. Significantly, these experiments are conducted with synthetic oceanwater, and in the absence of any chemical promoters. Both these aspects significantly enhance the techno-economic viability of this concept. The refinement of an existing analytical model allows the detailed evaluation of the composition of the slurry. We find that higher gas flowrates increase hydrate formation rate and speed of the hydrate propagation front, while lower flowrates increase the single-pass hydrate conversion efficiency, CO2 capture efficiency, hydrate slurry density, and ratio of solid hydrate: trapped gas in the slurry. On an intellectual front, our findings provide experimental evidence to support multiple hydrate growth theories. Most importantly, we demonstrate the production of hydrate slurries in 10's of seconds, and hydrate front propagation speeds of a few cm/s; this is the kind of process intensification needed to realize scalable sequestration. We also highlight the utility of rapidly forming transportable hydrate slurries in lieu of slow production of solid hydrate blocks. Overall, this study lays the foundation for future development of hydrates-based scalable sequestration technologies.

Based on the heat and mass transfer analogy between double stream countercurrent heat exchanger and nonideally rejecting reverse osmosis (RO) membrane mass exchanger, an advanced effectiveness (e)-mass transfer units (MTU)-based method for analysis of RO systems is presented. Unlike previous RO e - MTU models, this closed-form analytical solution directly incorporates non-ideal solution properties, membrane selectivity, and variations in concentration polarization and mass transfer coefficient along the flow length, without necessitating additional computational simulations. Non-dimensional numbers e and feed inlet osmotic pressure ratio ( SRfi) are defined similar to previous RO e - MTU models. However, MTU is analogously formulated to the number of transfer units term in a heat exchanger, appropriately providing a physical significance of non-dimensional size of the RO stage. An additional non-dimensional term, referred to as the solvent capacity ratio (Cr), is defined to compare the effect of relative variation in the solvent transfer potential between the feed and permeate streams. Based on the developed method, brackish and seawater RO stages are designed with varying membrane selectivity and transmembrane pressure. It is observed that high-salt passage membranes enhance RO performance within permissible freshwater concentration limits. Importantly, this method yields errors of only 3.3-5 % against experimental and numerical data. Overall, this study presents a simplified analytical formulation for sizing and analyzing RO-based desalination systems, without including common simplifying assumptions employed in such analysis.

CO2 hydrates are crystalline solids of water and CO2 that form around 0 degrees C and elevated pressures from mixtures of CO2 and water. We report the fastest-even formation rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrate slurry without the use of any conventional chemical promoters or mechanical agitation. This is achieved by sparging CO2 gas as bubbles (size in the order of 100 mu m) at high flowrates in a water column in a bubble column reactor. Importantly, the enhancement in the CO2 sequestration rate (based on net gas consumption) is achieved using synthetic oceanwater, which has traditionally slowed hydrate formation. Use of a 2 mu m-pore sized sparger results in a three orders of magnitude increase in gas-liquid interfacial area compared to our previous studies which used millimetric sized bubbles delivered by a tube into the reactor. Enhanced bubbling continuously renews the gas-water-hydrate interface and improves the heat/mass transfer. We measure CO2 gas consumption rate and hydrate slurry composition (hydrate, CO2 dissolved in water, trapped CO2 gas) as a function of the bubble delivery method, operating pressure, and gas flowrate and duration. Our best results show that hydrate slurries can be formed in 10s of seconds; we report sequestration rate of 2.4 kg h(-1) L-1 MPa-1, which is 2X higher than our previous best result. Overall, these results further improve the prospects of largescale carbon sequestration via ultrafast CO2 hydrate formation.

Increasing the thermal conductivity of the oil-paper insulation system can significantly extend the thermal life of transformers by enabling effective heat removal, which reduces high temperature-induced insulation degradation. This research shows that the addition of nominally 25 mu m diameter boron nitride particles can achieve sufficient increase in through-plane thermal conductivity of insulation paper to an extent that doubles the transformer thermal life. Importantly, the dielectric breakdown strength can also be enhanced by adding boron nitride particles to the developed insulation paper. Moreover, applying lignin containing cellulose microfibrils into the paper can compensate for the paper strength loss due to the disruption of hydrogen bonding by the addition of BN particles. Building on these findings, we outlined a pathway for a boron nitride-based enhanced insulation system with outstanding through-plane thermal conductivity, enhanced dielectric strength, an appropriate dielectric constant and the needed tensile strength. Additionally, thermal aging experiments showed that the proposed material can have a reasonable thermal life under transformer operating conditions. Overall, this research shows that the mix of thermal, mechanical, and dielectric properties can be successfully tuned to achieve a beneficial insulation system which can significantly enhance the transformer life. As the summary, the proposed material has three times better through-plane thermal conductivity (0.76 W/m center dot K vs. 0.2 W/m center dot K), 23 % higher dielectric strength (84.6 kV/mm vs. 65.3 kV/mm), 35 % greater tensile strength (71.26 N center dot m/g vs. 45.91 N center dot m/g) and 33 % smaller relative permittivity (3.7 vs. 5.5) than the commercial insulation paper with similar thermal degradation rates.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrates are crystalline solids of water and CO2 that form around 0 degrees C and at moderate pressures (similar to 400 psi) from mixtures of CO2 and water. Hydrates offer an avenue for large-scale, long-term carbon sequestration. Recent work from this group reported ultrafast formation of CO2 hydrates in a bubble column reactor using magnesium as a passive nucleation promoter. While that study utilized pure CO2, we presently study hydrate formation from a binary mixture of CO2 (90% by volume) and nitrogen (10% by volume). Additionally, we study the impact of bubble delivery via a micrometer-sized pore sparger and contrast it with bubble delivery using a straight tube. We report sequestration rates as high as 1163 g h(-1) L-1 MPa-1, which is within 10% of the fastest reported rates (using pure CO2). Significantly, this rate is achieved using synthetic ocean water, which itself has an inhibiting effect on hydrate formation. We find that use of the sparger increases the density of hydrates formed and the conversion of CO2 into hydrate. Overall, the high formation rates achieved with impure CO2 vastly improve the techno-economics of CO2 hydrates-based sequestration since purification of CO2 is energy and cost intensive.

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will play a crucial role in reducing the negative effects of climate change, with a projected 10 GtCO2/yr capacity needed by 2050. Along with scientific research, comprehensive techno-economic analyses (TEA) are needed to analyze the economic attractiveness of various CCS concepts being proposed. Presently, a TEA was conducted for a novel CCS concept which integrates indirect ocean capture (IOC) with carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrates-based sequestration (HBS) using existing offshore platforms. Crucially, there is no CO2 transportation involved due to onsite seabed sequestration. Furthermore, water pumping distances are significantly reduced (in comparison to coastal IOC plants), which reduces the costs noticeably. The proposed concept does not require desalination, which further improves prospects for implementation. For a 25yr, 1 MtCO2/yr project, the total levelized cost for capture and sequestration is 1130 $/tCO2; CO2 capture accounts for 97 % of the cost (with water pretreatment dominating costs). Contributions of various processes to the total cost are quantified and a sensitivity analysis conducted to identify avenues for cost reduction. A combined best case of parameters reduces the cost to 887 $/tCO2 and 25 $/tCO2 for capture and sequestration, respectively. Preliminary thermodynamics-based analysis in the Gulf of Mexico identifies more than 75 existing offshore platforms which can host such CCS projects.

Significant carbon sequestration capacity (up to 10 Gigatons/yr) will be needed by 2050 to limit the Earth's temperature rise to <1.5 degrees C. Current worldwide sequestration capacity is only similar to 40MT/yr, which highlights the need for the development of new and scalable sequestration approaches. One promising approach for long-term sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is the deposition of CO2 hydrates (ice-like solids of water and CO2) on the seabed with artificial sealing (or under marine sediments). Technologically, this involves formation of CO2 hydrate foam, transport of the foam to the sequestration site, compaction into hydrate plugs, sealing and then disposal. Critical to the techno-economic success of this concept is the ability to rapidly form hydrates. The present group has achieved very high rates of formation of hydrate foam by bubbling CO2 gas at high flow rates in a bubble column reactor (BCR). This study utilizes recent experimental results on ultra-fast hydrate formation to conduct a detailed techno-economic analysis of the hydrate foam-making process. All analysis is conducted for a 1 Megaton/yr sequestration project with project life of 30 years. Our analysis shows that the energy requirements (assumed as electrical in this study) for hydrate formation equal 260 kWhr/ton and the total cost of hydrate foam production is $36/ton. The biggest cost component is energy, which accounts for 51 % of total cost. A 1 Megaton/yr project will require an initial capital investment of $150 M. Such a project will consume 0.66 million cubic meters of seawater/yr. Contributions of various key processes to the total cost are quantified. Process-wise, the biggest contributors to total cost are refrigeration and gas compression, which account for 41 % and 27 % of the total cost, respectively. Cost of the BCR is only 0.1 % of the total investment cost. Also, gas recirculation in the BCR contributes minimally (0.14 %) to the overall energy requirement. Finally, this study identifies pathways to reduce $/ton costs to increase the viability of this carbon sequestration approach. It is noted that hydrate transportation, compaction and sealing are not included in this analysis which focuses on the techno-economics of rapid hydrate formation only.

The continuous accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere represents one of the greatest challenges to achieving a sustainable and circular carbon economy. Traditional capture technologies based on aqueous amines are effective but suffer from high energy penalties, corrosion, and environmental toxicity. In contrast, bio-based polymers offer renewable, low-impact alternatives for CO2 capture and subsequent transformation. Chitin and its deacetylated derivative chitosan emerge as particularly promising due to their abundance in marine waste, intrinsic amine functionalities, and compatibility with mild processing routes. Their molecular structure enables reversible carbamate and bicarbonate formation, and they may also serve as precursors to nitrogen-doped carbon materials with enhanced porosity and catalytic activity. This review integrates methodological details on the transformation of chitin and chitosan into N-doped carbons, evaluates their performance relative to other biopolymers and traditional CO2 capture technologies, and discusses challenges such as moisture sensitivity, limited surface area, and scalability. Opportunities for industrial implementation and pathway integration are explored to provide a balanced, forward-looking perspective on the role of chitin-based systems in sustainable carbon capture and utilization.

Novel energy efficient and scalable carbon capture and sequestration technologies are critical to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. In this study, we present a first-order system-level assessment of an integrated carbon capture and carbon sequestration plant that couples electrochemical CO2 capture from oceanwater with co-located long-term carbon sequestration as CO2 hydrates (ice-like solids) on the seabed. Separate recent experimental results associated with electrochemical capture and hydrate formation form the basis for this energetics-focused analysis, which evaluates power consumption of all the key components associated with capture and sequestration. Hydrates can be formed from both pure water as well as seawater, and the implications of including a desalination plant to provide pure water for hydrate formation are studied. All analysis is conducted for a 1 plant which captures and sequesters 1 megaton CO2 annually. Our results indicate the carbon capture will consume significantly more energy than carbon sequestration despite the use of a low-energy consuming electrochemical technique. From a sequestration standpoint, there are clear benefits to forming hydrates at high pressures, since the elevated formation rates reduce the number of hydrate formation reactors significantly. It is also seen that the addition of a desalination plant to provide pure water for hydrate formation (which speeds up hydrate formation) will not affect the energetics of the overall process significantly; however the CAPEX and operational aspects of including a desalination plant need to be analyzed in greater detail. Overall, this study seeds a novel CCS concept which can be deployed via decommissioned oil-gas platforms to capture CO2 from surface oceanwater and store CO2 right below on the seabed after appropriate sealing (artificial or natural).

Degradation of insulation paper is a key contributor to the failure of power transformers. Insulation degradation accelerates at elevated temperatures, which highlights the potential for better thermal management to prolong life. While several studies have analyzed the benefits of high thermal conductivity oil for reducing temperatures inside a transformer, this study is an initial assessment of the benefits of high thermal conductivity paper on transformer life. Blending particulates with cellulosic fibers offers a pathway for high thermal conductivity paper (with good dielectric properties), which can reduce internal temperatures. Presently, life extensions that can be achieved by the use of such thermally conducting papers were estimated, with the thermal conductivity of the paper being the key parameter under study. The analytical-numerical thermal model used in this study was validated against experimental measurements in a distribution transformer, adding confidence to the utility of the model. This model was then used to provide estimates of hot-spot temperature reduction resulting from the use of papers with higher thermal conductivity than baseline. Transformer life was predicted conventionally by tracking the degree of polymerization of paper over time, based on an Arrhenius model. Results indicate that increasing the thermal conductivity of paper from 0.2 W/mK (baseline) to 1 W/mK reduces the hot spot temperature by 10°C. While degradation significantly depends on the moisture and oxygen content, the model shows that such a temperature reduction can increase life for all conditions, by as much as a factor of three.

Hydrates are ice-like crystalline structures of hydrogen-bonded water molecules that trap a guest molecule. Hydrates have several applications, including carbon sequestration, gas separation, desalination, etc. A classical major challenge associated with artificial hydrate formation is the very long induction time to nucleate hydrates. This has spurred the development of multiple chemical, mechanical, and electrical strategies to promote nucleation. Presently, we discover that magnesium can significantly promote the nucleation of tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrates. While magnesium has been recently shown (by our group) to promote the formation of carbon dioxide hydrates (gas-liquid system), this study discovers that the benefits of magnesium extend to liquid-liquid hydrate systems as well. Experiments show that magnesium reduces the induction time for THF hydrate nucleation with deionized (DI) water and saltwater by six and eight times, respectively. Magnesium-induced nucleation rate enhancements for hydrate formation with DI water and saltwater were 12 and 99 times, respectively. Importantly, we demonstrate near-instantaneous nucleation when magnesium is introduced after the hydrate-forming system reaches suitable thermodynamic conditions. We conduct statistically significant measurements of nucleation and XPS analysis to identify the underlying mechanisms responsible for nucleation. We discuss multiple phenomena at play, including chemical and mechanistic promotion pathways. The formation of hydrogen bubbles and the presence of magnesium ions in solution are seen as important to magnesium-based nucleation promotion. Importantly, very low amounts of Mg are consumed in this process unlike in traditional chemical promotion techniques. Overall, our discovery can enable on-demand nucleation of liquid-liquid hydrate systems, which is critical to the development of several applications.