MIT plans a new economic CO2 capture system

Currently, when CO2 is trapped before it escapes into the atmosphere, the process requires a lot of energy and expensive equipment. Now MIT researchers have designed a capture system using an electrochemical cell that can easily capture and release CO2. The device operates at room temperature and requires less energy than traditional amine-based carbon capture systems .

The researchers reported in ACS Central Science that the project is a capture system that uses an electrochemical cell that can easily capture and release CO2. The device operates at room temperature and requires less energy than traditional amine-based carbon capture systems.

Many industries are turning to electrification to help reduce carbon emissions, but this technique isn't feasible for all industries . For example, CO2 is a natural by-product of cement production and therefore alone contributes significantly to emissions. The excess gas can be trapped with carbon capture technologies, which typically rely on amines to help 'remove' the pollutant by chemically binding to it. But that also requires a lot of energy, heat and industrial equipment, which can burn even more fossil fuels in the process. Carbon capture could be electrified using electrochemical cells and these devices could be powered by renewable energy sources.

So, Fang-Yu Kuo, Sung Eun Jerng and Betar Gallant wanted to develop an electrochemical cell that could easily and reversibly trap CO2 with minimal energy input.

The team first developed an electrochemical cell capable of capturing and releasing emitted carbon by 'swinging' positively charged cations through a liquid amine dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide. When the cell was discharged, a strong Lewis cation interacted with the carbamic acid, releasing CO2 and forming the amine carbamate. When the process was reversed and the cell charged, the cation was removed and the cell could capture CO2 and reform the carbamic acid in the process.

The researchers optimized the ion rocking process with a combination of potassium and zinc ions. In a prototype cell, they used these two ions as the basis for the cell's cathode and anode. This cell required less energy than other heat-based cells and was competitive with other electrochemical cells in initial experiments. Furthermore, they tested the device's long-term stability and found that almost 95% of its original capacity was retained after several charge and discharge cycles, proving that the system was viable. The researchers say this work demonstrates that an electrochemical alternative is possible and could help make continuous CO2 capture and release technologies more practical for industrial applications.

This opens up new economically attractive frontiers for CO2 capture and its storage or transformation into useful by-products for industry.

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The article MIT Designs a New Economic CO2 Capture System comes from Scenari Economici .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-mit-progetta-un-nuovo-sistema-economico-di-cattura-del-co2/ on Thu, 07 Sep 2023 08:00:44 +0000.