| Project Detail |
Improving CO2 capture with advanced metal-organic frameworks
Many current CO2 capture methods face high energy requirements and significant infrastructure needs. In contrast, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer advantages such as high adsorption capacity, selectivity, tunability and renewability. However, designing MOF materials with high CO2 capture capacity, gas selectivity, water stability and moderate regeneration energy remains challenging. With the support of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MOF4CO2 project aims to enhance CO2 binding in MOFs using a dual activation method with nitrogen and sulphur atoms. Incorporating Lewis base sites (LBSs) is expected to reduce regeneration energy and improve CO2 binding affinity. The project will employ advanced thermal modelling to analyse CO2 adsorption/desorption and dry-out sequences.
Existing CO2 capture technologies, such as amine-based absorption and cryogenic distillation, face challenges and problems including high energy requirements, large infrastructure needs, and high costs. These technologies often require significant retrofitting or integration into existing industrial processes, limiting their scalability and commercial viability. In contrast, the utilization of MOFs (Metal-Organic Frameworks) for CO2 capture has garnered significant interest due to the numerous advantages they offer compared to other materials such as high adsorption capacity, selectivity, tunability, regenerability, and potential for direct utilization, making MOFs a promising solution for efficient and effective CO2 capture. However, it is challenging to design MOF materials with extremely high CO2 capture capacity, gas selectivity, and water stability along with moderate regeneration energy as water dissociation causes hydroxyl-poisoning that impairs CO2 sorption by both high temperature and moisture exposure. Additionally, the high energy consumption during blowdown and evacuation steps for the process cycle of MOFs need to be improved to ensure long-term performance. The novelty of this work lies in its ability to strengthen the interaction between CO2 molecules and the MOF structure through an innovative dual activation method, utilizing both N and S atoms. This approach surpasses conventional single-atom activation in MOFs, resulting in enhanced binding. Furthermore, the incorporation of Lewis Base Sites (LBSs) has become increasingly popular for reducing the energy needed for MOF regeneration, consequently improving CO2 binding affinity, selectivity, and reversibility. Advanced thermal modeling will be employed to analyze the dynamic processes of CO2 adsorption/desorption, sweep gas, and dry-out sequences. This modeling considers both the mechanical and chemical properties of the synthesized MOF. |
