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co2 caputre using nanoparticle ionic materials (nims)
The greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel utilization continue to increase, and based on the current trends in energy usage and demand it is expected that the atmospheric CO2 concentration could reach 580 ppm, a threshold value thought to trigger severe climate change, within a mere 50 years, unless action is taken. A number of CO2 capture and storage technologies are currently being developed to meet this challenge. For example, amine-based solvents, such as monoethnolamine (MEA) and chilled ammonia, are already being implemented for CO2 separation from the post-combustion flue gas stream. These solvents have very high capacity to capture CO2, however they have some drawbacks, including high vapor pressure that leads to fugitive emissions during regeneration. MEA is also corrosive in nature, and thus, only dilute solutions of MEA can be used for CO2 capture.
This study focuses on the development of CO2 capture fluids based on the nanoparticle ionic materials (NIMS) and the characterization of their absorption isotherms as a function of CO2 partial pressure and temperature (i.e., combustion and gasification conditions). NIMS are a new class of organicinorganic hybrids that consist of a hard nanoparticle core functionalized with a molecular organic (sometimes polymeric) corona. NIMS are nanoscale analogs of ionic liquids (ILs), which are often non-volatile and stable over a very wide temperature range (-40 to > 300 ºC). The effects of the volume fraction of nanoparticles and the different functional groups on the CO2 capture efficiencies of NIMS are also investigated. To facilitate the search for optimal NIMS designs that maximize CO2 capture, a high-pressure, high-temperature reactor setup and a micro balance system are employed. The NIMS results are then compared with those for the commercially available ILs, as well as MEA solvent.
This project is supported by Award No. KUS-C1-018-02, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) as a part of the Global Research Partnership Center led by Cornell University.