Carbon dioxide capture
Many people are now convinced that increasing average global temperatures are linked to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, which in turn arises largely from the use of fossil fuels. If carbon dioxide emissions are to be reduced, improved technologies are needed for the capture of carbon dioxide from point sources such as power stations. The carbon dioxide may then be stored (e.g., in geological formations) or converted into useful feedstocks. We are investigating (1) membrane processes using highly selective (e.g., facilitated transport or catalytic) membranes and (2) adsorption processes utilising improved solid-state adsorbents.
UK CONSORTIUM: INNOVATIVE GAS SEPARATIONS FOR CARBON CAPTURE
Partners:
University of Edinburgh; St. Andrews University; Cardiff University; University of Manchester; Imperial College, London; University College, London.
Objectives:
1. Develop novel design and synthesis routes for materials and solvents for carbon capture technologies applied to power stations.
2. Develop methodologies to screen materials and solvents both experimentally and via molecular and process modelling approaches.
3. Develop protocols to define the feasibility of the novel materials and solvents in the presence of impurities.
4. Develop methodologies to combine experimental and multi-scale modelling results to obtain reliable process design tools.
5. Predict the performance and optimisation of novel gas separation processes coupled to power stations in both steady-state and transient operation.
6. Interact closely with stakeholders and end users to define case studies as well as enhance the uptake of the results of the research.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
P.M. Budd, N.B. McKeown, B.S. Ghanem, K.J. Msayib, D. Fritsch, L. Starannikova, N. Belov, O. Sanfirova, Y. Yampolskii and V. Shantarovich, Gas permeation parameters and other physicochemical properties of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity: Polybenzodioxane PIM-1, J. Membr. Sci., 2008, 325, 851-860.
P.M. Budd, K.J. Msayib, C.E. Tattershall, B.S. Ghanem, K.J. Reynolds, N.B. McKeown and D. Fritsch, Gas separation membranes from polymers of intrinsic microporosity, J. Membr. Sci., 2005, 251, 263-269.
Computer simulation of carbon dioxide in a polymer of intrinsic microporosity. Image courtesy of Dr. Flor Siperstein