Towards Direct CO2 Capture from the Atmosphere | ZHAW Institute of Materials and Process Engineering IMPE

The Institute of Materials and Process Engineering (IMPE) developed a new class of CO2-capturing material which can be regenerated at the lowest ever reported temperature and recover the CO2 with greatly reduced energy input.

CO2 adsorption takes place at 25 °C (blue bars), the regeneration of commercial materials occurs at approx. 100 °C (red bars), IMPE-Cap can already be completely regenerated at 50 °C (green bars), enlarged view — CO2 adsorption takes place at 25 °C (blue bars), the regeneration of commercial materials occurs at approx. 100 °C (red bars), IMPE-Cap can already be completely regenerated at 50 °C (green bars)

Global warming caused by anthropogenic CO2 emissions is one of the public concerns in every country. The Laboratory of Process Engineering at the IMPE (Institute of Materials and Process Engineering) advanced currently-available technologies with a hybrid material with polyethylenimine and ionic liquid (hereafter IMPE-Cap). A state-of-the art spectroscopic technique, modulation excitation IR spectroscopy, revealed that IMPE-Cap weakens chemical bond between CO2 and material surface, leading to CO2 release (regeneration) at 50 ^oC (the lowest ever reported).

Cover of Energy & Fuels, Vol. 35, May 20, 2021, enlarged view — Cover of Energy & Fuels, Vol. 35, May 20, 2021

IMPE-Cap has a potential for industrial applications to save energy and lower operation cost of CO2 capture from either the atmosphere or exhausts from power plants. We are pleased to report that our Master's and Bachelor's students also contributed to the research project and that the work was published by ACS Publications' journal "Energy & Fuels", as well as highlighted on the cover. The interdisciplinary process engineering team is open to collaborations with industrial partners to realize the applications in the market.

Article in Energy & Fuels, Vol. 35, May 20, 2021: Toward carbon dioxide capture from the atmosphere : lowering the regeneration temperature of polyethylenimine-based adsorbents by ionic liquid