Efficient carbon capture thanks to new reverse chemical reaction at nanoscale

Finding an efficient absorbent has long been a challenge for most absorption and desorption processes. A successful CO2 absorbent must have fast reaction kinetics (the rate of chemical processes), be low in cost, and be able to regenerate with a low energy barrier to complete the whole CO2 capture-release cycle.
A recent study led by Xi Chen, associate professor of earth and environmental engineering at Columbia Engineering, and Klaus Lackner at Arizona State University, reports an unconventional reversible chemical reaction in a confined nanoenvironment. The discovery, a milestone in clarifying the scientific underpinnings of moisture-swing chemical reaction, is critical to understanding how to scrub CO2 from the Earth's atmosphere, and the researchers have already used it to capture CO2 more efficiently and at a much lower cost than other methods.
Water is the key player in this new study. The group found that reducing water quantities in nanoconfinement could promote CO32- (carbonate) ions to hydrolyze H2O into a larger amount of OH- (hydroxide) ions. This discovery also led the team to find a new nanostructured CO2 sorbent (a material used to absorb or adsorb liquids or gases) that also binds CO2 spontaneously in ambient air when the surrounding is dry, while releasing it when exposed to moisture.

http://phys.org/news/2016-06-reverse-chemical-reaction-nanoscale-enables.html

 

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Chemists make breakthrough in carbon capture

Here's some more news about the development in carbon capture. Scientists from the University of York have developed an innovative new green method of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power stations, chemical and other large scale manufacturing plants.
Starbons, made from waste biomass including food peelings and seaweed, were discovered and first reported 10 years ago by the York Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence. Using these renewable materials provides a greener, more efficient and selective approach than other commercial systems of reducing emissions.
Current widespread methods of carbon capture, such as amine treating, use liquid solutions for the treatment of emissions from chemical plants and refineries. However, these are expensive to run and require a lot of input energy compared with a relatively low output.
The synthetic make-up of Starbons, which contains pores, results in the absorption of up to 65 percent more CO2 than other methods.
Starbons are also more selective in capturing CO2 when mixed with nitrogen, with results showing a capture rate of 20:1 rather than 5:1 - four times more selective than other methods.The materials also retain their CO2 absorption and selectivity in the presence of water, and have extremely fast rates of CO2 absorption and desorption.

http://phys.org/news/2016-07-chemists-breakthrough-carbon-capture.html

 

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