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PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum

New Porous Liquids for Gas Separation and Carbon Capture

Alternative title: New Porous Liquids for Gas Separation and Carbon Capture

Awarded: NOK 11.3 mill.

Project Manager:

Project Number:

324306

Application Type:

Project Period:

2021 - 2026

Partner countries:

The increase in man-made CO2 emissions is of great concern for the global rise in temperature. We, therefore, urgently need an effective carbon capture strategy. Carbon capture by the absorption of alkanolamines is one of the most mature technologies. However, this amine technology entails a number of disadvantages, including the formation of carcinogenic degradation products from the amine solution. We, therefore, need a more environmentally friendly and efficient alternative to amine technology. In our project, we will investigate a new class of molecules, so-called "pillararene molecules", for carbon capture application. These molecules are the building blocks that we will assemble into more complex systems with many cavities and many carbon adsorption sites. Using special chemical functional groups, we will then modify and design the chemical and physical properties of these systems. We will synthesize and characterize the structures both experimentally and theoretically. Computational modeling will help gaining an understanding of the CO2 adsorption in these structures at the atomic level and help us to optimize the material. At the end of the project, we will be able to present a new material for carbon capture that is easy to synthesize, inexpensive, recyclable, is very selective and has a high capacity.

The increase in anthropogenic CO2 emission is of concern for global temperature rise. Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) are sought as a short-term and long-term CO2 mitigation strategy. Central to both is the carbon capture process. Among the several proposed technologies, carbon capture by absorption or alkanol amines scrubbing is the most matured technology. The several drawbacks of the alkanol amines method underpin the research in the development of environmentally friendly and efficient separation technology for CO2 separation. In our project we aim at validating “Pillar(n)arenes”-based systems for carbon capture application. Pillar[n]arenes (P[n]As) are a new class of macrocycle compounds made of hydroquinone units (with n=5,6,7,...). They are easy to synthesize and handle, have high chemical and thermal stability, and can be made water-soluble. The highly symmetric pillared structure with aromatic rings forming the wall of the pillar and n-hydroxyl groups pointing on top and bottom provides a cavity for strong geometric and chemical host-guest interactions. Besides, P[n]As can be turned into highly porous materials with many and different kinds of adsorption sites. We will synthesize and characterize both experimentally and theoretically a so far unexploited pillar[n]arenes based systems for carbon capture application. Computational modelling will help to gain an atomic/molecular-level understanding of the CO2 adsorption at P[n]A-based systems and verify the P[n]A-material potential for CO2 capture by absorption and adsorption application under realistic conditions. At the end of the project, we will propose a new material for carbon capture that is easy to synthesize, cheap, recyclable, is highly selective, and has a high capacity.

Publications from Cristin

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Funding scheme:

PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum