New materials absorb CO2 easily

(A plastic sheet like a greenhouse gas sponge carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) can easily convert this contaminated fossil fuel into new energy sources, such as hydrogen. This material - like a kind of plastic used to pack food - could play an important role in the plan to cut President Obama's CO ₂ emissions by 30% by 2030, and possibly Integrated into the chimney in the future.

This material report is one of nearly 12,000 presentations at the National Conference & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the largest scientific organization in the world. gender, will be held in the US on Thursday.

'The bottom line is that this polymer is stable, cheap, and it absorbs CO ₂ very well. It suits functions in a real environment, ' said Dr. Andrew Cooper. 'In the future, when fuel cell technology is used, this adsorbent could work for zero emissions' technology.

CO2-absorbing materials are commonly used to remove this greenhouse gas from exhaust fumes in thermal power plants, where fossil fuels such as coal or gas are burned. However, Cooper and his colleagues wanted the adsorbent, an organic polymer ion membrane , for another application - that could lead to pollution reduction.

This new material will be part of an integrated technology called the gasification combined cycle (IGCC) , which converts fossil fuels into hydrogen gas. Hydro promises to be used in fuel cell vehicles and produces electricity because it is almost non-polluting. The IGCC is a transitional technology to start a hydrogen economy, or a shift to hydrogen fuel, while still using existing fossil fuel infrastructure. However, the IGCC process produces a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, which needs to be separated.

Dr Cooper at the University of Liverpool said the material works best under high pressure conditions with the IGCC process . Just like a piece of foam in your kitchen swells when it absorbs water, the material also grows slowly as it absorbs carbon dioxide and tiny tiny spaces between its molecules. When pressure drops , he explains, the adsorbent collapses and emits CO _2, which they can capture or convert into useful carbon compounds.

This material is a sand-like powder, brown in color, created by binding many tiny carbon-based molecules into a network. Cooper explained that the idea of ​​using this structure was inspired by polystyrene, a plastic used in foam and other packaging materials. Polystyrene can adsorb a small amount of CO ₂ by doing the same expansion.

An advantage of using polymers is that they tend to be very stable. The materials can even be tolerated in boiling acid, proving that these polymers will withstand harsh conditions in power plants to adsorb CO ₂ . Other CO2-reducing devices, whether made from plastic or metal or in liquid form, often do not tolerate well, Cooper said. Another advantage of the new adsorbent is the ability to adsorb CO ₂ without the accompanying steam, which can clog other materials and make them less efficient. Low cost also makes this porous polymer more attractive. 'Compared to many other adsorbents , these materials are much cheaper,' Cooper said, because most carbon molecules used to make these adsorbents are inexpensive. 'In principle, these materials can be reused and have a long life because they are very durable.'

Cooper will also describe how to integrate so that his ion diaphragm polymer can be used in chimneys and other waste streams. He said it is relatively easy to put porous polyne into filters to remove carbon dioxide from the emissions of power plants. Combining two types of exhaust filtration systems can make adsorbents much more efficient by exploiting the strengths of each adsorbent.

The research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and E.ON Energy.