“Emissions from coal power stations could be drastically reduced by a new, energy-efficient material that adsorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide, then releases it when exposed to sunlight.”
Media release below.
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Carbon sponge could soak up coal emissions
Emissions from coal power stations could be drastically reduced by a new, energy-efficient material that adsorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide, then releases it when exposed to sunlight.
In a study published today in Angewandte Chemie, Monash University and CSIRO scientists for the first time discovered a photosensitive metal organic framework (MOF) – a class of materials known for their exceptional capacity to store gases. This has created a powerful and cost-effective new tool to capture and store, or potentially recycle, carbon dioxide.
By utilising sunlight to release the stored carbon, the new material overcomes the problems of expense and inefficiency associated with current, energy-intensive methods of carbon capture. Current technologies use liquid capture materials that are then heated in a prolonged process to release the carbon dioxide for storage.
Associate Professor Bradley Ladewig of the Monash Department of Chemical Engineering said the MOF was an exciting development in emissions reduction technology.
“For the first time, this has opened up the opportunity to design carbon capture systems that use sunlight to trigger the release of carbon dioxide,” Associate Professor Ladewig said.
“This is a step-change in carbon capture technologies.”
A promising and novel class of materials, MOFs are clusters of metal atoms connected by organic molecules. Due to their extremely high internal surface area – that could cover an entire football field in a single gram – they can store large volumes of gas.
PhD student Richelle Lyndon and lead author of the paper said the technology, known as dynamic photo-switching was accomplished using light-sensitive azobenzene molecules.
“The MOF can release the adsorbed carbon dioxide when irradiated with light found in sunlight, just like wringing out a sponge,” Ms Lyndon said.
“The MOF we discovered had a particular affinity for carbon dioxide. However, the light responsive molecules could potentially be combined with other MOFs, making the capture and release technology appropriate for other gases.”
The researchers, led by Professor Matthew Hill of CSIRO, will now optimise the material to increase the efficiency of carbon dioxide to levels suitable for an industrial environment.
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If there’s a market to use CO2 for something, e.g. coals-to-liquids for transport fuels, then capturing CO2 makes sense if it’s profitable.
Capturing CO2 will leave the climate/weather system operating the same as before the capture since human production of CO2 has too small an influence on climate/weather to matter.
“Free-range” CO2, on the other hand, may well be good for plants and therefore the entire biosphere.
“CSIRO scientists for the first time discovered a photosensitive metal organic framework (MOF)”
This is plainly a false statement, since in a report published in 2004, by Mark E. Davis, Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, titled “Ordered porous materials for emerging applications”, such metal organic frameworks and gas capture are extensively discussed.
http://www.ebah.com.br/content/ABAAAAY1EAI/15327ordered-porous-materials-for-emerging-applications
Other groups have mooted this before as a “solution” for so called “carbon capture”, but however the effect is a small scale one, and furthermore the reactants can cause significant health hazards, whereas the CO2 itself is harmless, and even beneficial to the natural environment.
I though they were talking about the oceans at first..
Sounds like a nice way to waste money recovering CO2 more efficiently.
Cool technology. I wonder if it might be useful for something.