Core-Shell Porous Framework Contactors for Efficient CO2 Capture from Flue Gas

Abstract

Current benchmark CO2 capture technologies primarily include aqueous amine-based solvents chemical absorption, which leads to significant regeneration energy penalties due to the thermal treatments required. The application of physical adsorption and separation technologies for carbon capture and sequestration is a promising avenue to enable cost-effective greenhouse gas remediation. Coordination frameworks, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), are emerging classes of supramolecular and crystalline materials, providing high capacity, selectivity, and low desorption energy, which may support such developments. The limited chemical and thermal stability of MOFs, as well as the reduced capture capacity in presence of moisture or other gas contaminants, however, limit their application, and engineering strategies must be developed to support their implementation. To curtail these shortcomings, a new core-shell structure involving the formation of a COF coating over a MOF core was developed in this project. Hydrophobic TpPa-1 COF layers acted as selective sieves to repel water vapor contained in the flue gas, thus offering increased CO2 capture capacity and permeability of the MOF core. Through modelling work, the core-shell structure was evaluated for CO2 capacity and permeability in the presence of water traces. Results have shown improvement in CO2 capture and separation performance of Mg-MOF-74 in presence of moisture. Therefore, such technology may prove to be judicious to reduce the footprint of carbon capture technologies.

Date of Award	Dec 2022
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Ludo Dumee (Supervisor)