NEW WONDER MATERIAL TO SCRUB CO2
“What makes this work exciting is that ALF performs really well relative to other high-performing CO2 adsorbents, but it rivals designer compounds in its simplicity, overall stability and ease of preparation,” said Hayden Evans, a chemist at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR).
“It is made of two substances found easily and abundantly, so creating enough ALF to use widely should be possible at very low cost.”
Coal-fired power plants account for around 30 per cent of all CO2 emissions globally, with estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA) finding that coal combustion was responsible for over 0.3°C of the 1°C increase in global average annual surface temperatures above pre-industrial levels.
This makes it the single largest source of global temperature increase, and many countries continue to rely on it to meet growing energy demands despite the transition to renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
The use of the ALF material to scrub the CO2 from the flue gas could significantly reduce the environmental impact of these power plants while they remain in operation.
Until now, scrubbing the CO2 directly from the smokestacks has proved tricky as the gases flowing up the chimneys are hot, humid and corrosive. Materials that work have typically been too expensive to be economically viable, while less expensive options only work in certain conditions.
“Put it all together, you need some kind of wonder material,” Dr Evans said. “Here, we’ve managed to tick every box except stability in very humid conditions. However, using ALF would be inexpensive enough that a drying step becomes a viable option.”
