Researchers have succeeded in developing a new and cheap material capable of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from factory chimneys of power plants and other sources of this greenhouse gas
Researchers have succeeded in developing a new and cheap material capable of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from factory chimneys of power plants and other sources of this greenhouse gas. The material, obtained in a single and simple synthetic step, has a high capacity for capturing carbon dioxide and is recyclable.
Combined with improved heat transfer methods, the new material could provide an inexpensive means of capturing large amounts of carbon dioxide from fuel-burning plants. Similar existing methods consist of the use of solid materials that lack sufficient stability for their circulation - or absorbent liquids that are expensive and require a relatively high amount of energy. "This is a result that can be used for an industrial scale," claims Christopher Jones (Jones), a professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
"Our material has a combination of several advantages: high capacity, simple preparation, low price and the possibility of reuse - all features that allow it to be a major adsorbent in the industry." Details of the new material, called "hyperbranched aluminosilicate" (HAS), were published in the March XNUMX issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The research was financially supported by the US Department of Energy through the National Laboratory for Energy Technologies.
The developing concern following increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide has accelerated the new interest in methods to remove the aforementioned gas from the chimneys of factories that produce electricity. In order to minimize their economic impact, the price of adding these materials to chimneys must be low so that they do not cause a significant increase in the price of electricity production. After capturing the carbon dioxide, it can be buried in the depths of the oceans, in coal deposits or depleted oil reservoirs. If the process of capturing the gas and burying it in other sources can become practical, America's large coal reserves could be used with less impact on global warming. The researchers succeeded in developing a way in which it is possible to add polymer-amine groups that absorb carbon dioxide to a solid silica substrate through a covalent bond. The strong chemical bonds make it possible to use the material many times and thereby recycle its important activity.
"Considering the large volumes involved in the method, you must be able to recycle the adsorbent material so that the process is cheap," says the researcher. "Otherwise, you'll be producing large and expensive waste quantities of the adsorbent." The production of the new material is relatively simple and only requires mixing the silica substrate with a precursor of the amine polymer found in the solution. The amine polymer is activated on the surface of the silica to form a solid material that can be filtered out and dried.
To test the effectiveness of their new material, the team from Georgia passed a stream of gases through tubes containing a mixture of sand and their new material. The carbon dioxide is adsorbed at a temperature range of fifty to seventy-five degrees Celsius. The new material is then heated to a temperature of between one hundred and one hundred and twenty degrees Celsius to evaporate the trapped gas so that the adsorbent can be used again. The researchers tested the process for twelve such cycles and did not observe a significant reduction in the activity of the adsorbent.
The innovative material is able to absorb carbon dioxide in an amount five times greater than any other recyclable absorbent material available in the world today. The new material manages to work even in the presence of moisture, an inevitable byproduct of the burning process. The adsorption of the gas produces a large amount of heat, which must be removed and can be recycled for other uses. The removal of the gas after its entrapment in the adsorbent requires the heating of the material. "Managing these heat transitions that exist in the process is the most important issue regarding the economics of the method for an industrial scale," says the researcher. "It is your duty to control the generation of heat in the adsorption phase, and you do not want to invest any additional energy beyond what is required in the evaporation phase."
Due to their chemical structure, the amine groups provide three separate binding sites for carbon dioxide. Improving the utilization of these link sites is the goal of future research, says the researcher. Apart from the adsorbent, other components of the confinement, separation and burial processes are required to be improved and upgraded before this method can be used for the practical removal of carbon dioxide from the factories' chimneys.
to the researchers' press release
14 תגובות
Sounds cool . But I have a few questions. The first, the absorption of carbon dioxide is in the range of up to 70 ^ cel. Every chimney is beyond this. I think the heat of the chimney shell is higher than that. Because then the filter in the chimney is just a stopper. Absorbs and releases immediately.
If so, the filter will be in the area where there is up to 70 ^. We will have to create an envelope around the chimney that will be wide enough not to exceed the effective temperature area. It's not serious .
The idea is still in its infancy.
The idea here is in the discovery of the absorbent material, not in its usefulness.
For a moment I thought it was solved. How cool was that. Pollutant to collect and return to the earth where it came from. He is sinking.
On the one hand, oil is taken out, and on the other hand, recycled dioxide is compressed into the gaping space.
Michael,
You're right. I didn't phrase my words well. The plant uses the carbon dioxide to assemble large molecules based on carbons. The carbon in these molecules eventually reaches the entire animal world. When they break down, one of the products is carbon dioxide.
Roy:
I know I'm not breaking anything for you, but to make things clear - the plants don't release PAD - they mainly release other carbon compounds.
These compounds eventually become PAD, but not before animals (and humans among them) benefit from the energy that can be extracted from them in a process that re-creates PAD.
In other words - the plants are part of an ecological cycle that maintains the balance of the atmosphere while utilizing the sun's energy for its sustenance. There is a place to try to build a complete ecological circle where the filters can integrate
The energy that the carbon dioxide stores can be used, for example when it is released from the substance that captures it.
Apart from that, all plants in nature are engaged in capturing PAD and turning it into organic substances. And in the end, of course, when they die, some of it is released back into the atmosphere.
That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. To collect PEDH, store it and then release it, and you also need to add the energy needed to create it, which also creates PEDH.
It doesn't help in any way! Why is it good!?!
Listen, as long as the government not only legislates the law but also encourages it with significant and advertising benefits... there is nothing to be done it won't happen... with the economic situation today people also don't have the money to change a tire on the verge of exploding... so should they change filters?? No way..
There are many things that need to be corrected by law in this country.. Let's just hope that by the time they are corrected in the world it won't be too late.
You can make the filter part of the parts that need to be replaced anyway in the 10000 treatment, as you know filters and oils of all kinds are replaced - so you will also add a filter for the exhaust. The integrity of the filter can be made mandatory as part of the annual test - as part of the air pollution test, and here the result must be 0 air pollution. If this is legislated into law, then everyone will be obliged to do so and not just the "green" people. I know this is not the best solution. Of course, it is better to switch to cars driven by other power such as electricity or hydrogen, but that is another vision for the time being. From what I have read so far, it does not seem that there is a solution in the near future to the problems that cars powered by hydrogen or electricity create, such as the problem of storing hydrogen, the distance between refueling and the very low driving speed. An interim solution like I proposed to reduce the amount of pollution by dozens of percent, so why not try?
Then where will we release the carbon dioxide from the material? Should we waste more energy to cause its decomposition: "Then the new material is heated to a temperature of between one hundred and one hundred and twenty degrees Celsius to evaporate the trapped gas so that the adsorbent can be used again."
And every time we run to do the ritual of renewing the filter?
It could in the most optimistic case be of use to the greener among us.
In my opinion, it is better to concentrate the energy production in a central place (a coal-fired power plant) and switch to cars with a battery that is charged from the electricity grid
Why don't they turn the above material into a filter that can be installed on vehicle exhausts, something like a gas mask only in reverse...if it is a relatively cheap material, needs a little heating (which is known to be present in the exhaust during operation), then there is a way to significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide emitted by cars. If the idea is applicable, someone has to pick up the gauntlet.
Hebrew Moshe,
It's like the difference between eating little or eating healthy food.
You say it's better to eat a little (not a pity? Self-abuse)
I and everyone else say that it is better to invent healthy food and eat it in the desired amount.
In short, if you really stand behind your word, then it's better not to turn on your computer and TV, only go up and down the stairs, vacuum with a broom and broom, don't turn on the air conditioner in the summer or the oven in the winter, turn off the light in the room every time you go to the bathroom.
Quality of life affected? Isn't it fun to eat a little?
So it's probably better to look for healthy food / green energy
Moshe Hebrew:
It's time for people to understand that if someone solves a problem they should be congratulated and not belittled or ridiculed for their achievements even if they think there are more important problems.
The mockery and disdain sound particularly bad when they come from the mouth of a person who himself has not solved the problem he wants solved and not even the secondary problem whose solution was presented.
There is no conflict in the search for smart materials and the need to find green energy sources. You must act on several levels at the same time and not put all your eggs in one basket that may turn out to be irrelevant.
Best regards,
A.B.
In short, sweep the problem under the table. Instead of dealing with the morbid problem: increased consumption and waste of energy and polluting means of production, are faced
with the symptom. Really beautiful!