Australian team claims carbon capture breakthrough using super-porous material

A team of researchers has claimed a new efficiency record for carbon capture and storage (CCS) thanks to the huge surface area held within tiny amounts of a cutting-edge material.

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are so porous that a teaspoon amount can contain the entire surface area of a football field. A team from Monash University and CSIRO in Australia used the material, a crystalline compound of metal ions resembling a ‘sponge filled with tiny magnets’, to achieve the efficiency breakthrough.

CCS is a growing field that could have a major impact on humanity’s efforts to tackle climate change, working alongside renewable energy and other sources to help reduce the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

The researchers designed a unique adsorbent material called M-74 CPT@PTMSP, which delivered a record low energy cost of just 1.29MJ kg^-1CO₂, 45% below commercially deployed materials and reportedly the best CCS efficiency recorded. The adsorption process uses a similar technique to heating induction hobs to reduce the energy needed, and the nanocomposite material can regenerate with remarkable speed and low energy cost.

“Global concerns on the rising level of greenhouse gas emissions and the associated environmental impact has led to renewed calls for emissions reduction and the development of green and renewable alternative energy sources,” said associate professor Matthew Hill.

“However, existing commercial carbon capture technologies use amines like monoethanolamine, which is highly corrosive, energy intensive and captures a limited amount of carbon from the atmosphere.

“Our research shows the lowest reported regeneration energy calculated for any solid porous adsorbent, including monoethanolamine, piperazine and other amines. This makes it a cheap method that can be paired with renewable solar energy to capture excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“Essentially, we can capture CO₂ from anywhere. Our current focus is for capture directly from the air in what are known as negative emissions technologies.”

For MOFs to be used in CCS applications, it is essential to have materials that can be easily fabricated with good stability and performance. The stability of M-74 CPT@PTMSP was evaluated by estimating the amount of CO₂ and H₂O captured and released via the researchers' magnetic induction swing adsorption process over 20 consecutive cycles, and it was found to have very low regeneration energy.

The research was published in Cell Reports Physical Science.

Want the best engineering stories delivered straight to your inbox? The Professional Engineering newsletter gives you vital updates on the most cutting-edge engineering and exciting new job opportunities. To sign up, click here.

Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.