Carbon capture is a hot topic in dealing with climate change. Researchers from various countries have developed a number of related innovative technologies for carbon capture. For example, Switzerland's Neustek AG has developed a sustainable concrete material that captures carbon dioxide in the air; researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed an artificial leaf. , saying it is more efficient than existing carbon capture systems.
In addition, a team of researchers at Rice University in Houston, USA, has also developed a new chemical technology that can convert waste plastic into a material that effectively absorbs carbon dioxide. The gaseous material becomes an "adsorbent" for carbon dioxide.
Synthetic organic chemist James M. Tour and his co-authors Wala Algozeeb, graduate student Paul Savas and postdoctoral researcher Zhe Yuan report in the journal ACS Nano that exposing plastic waste to potassium acetate Particles with nanoscale pores are created to trap carbon dioxide molecules.
James M. Tour received his BS in chemistry from Syracuse University, his PhD in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry from Purdue University, and postdoctoral training in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University. . After teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina for 11 years, he joined the Center for Nanoscience and Technology at Rice University in 1999 and currently serves as the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering. Has approximately 650 research publications and more than 200 patents.
In 2015, James M. Tour was elected to the National Academy of Inventors; in 2019, he was named one of the "50 Most Influential Scientists in the World Today"; in 2020, he became a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry Academician, he was awarded the Centenary Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the same year in recognition of his innovations in applied materials chemistry in medicine and nanotechnology; in 2021, he received the Oesper Award from the American Chemical Society, which is awarded to "lifetime achievements in the field of chemistry." An outstanding chemist who has made significant achievements and has had a long-lasting impact on chemical science."
In this technology, they used Potassium Acetate, also known as potassium acetate, which is a white powdery organic substance that can be used as an analytical reagent, to adjust the pH value, and as a desiccant. , buffer, catalyst and other functions. The researchers crushed the waste plastic and mixed it with potassium acetate at 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit) for 45 minutes. The resulting pores, which are about 0.7 nanometers wide, can be used to adsorb CO2 molecules from the atmosphere. The process also produces a wax by-product that can be recycled into detergents or lubricants, the researchers said.
At room temperature, these porous particles can hold up to 18% of their weight in CO2. Like amine-based materials, adsorbents can be reused. Heating it to about 75 degrees Celsius (167 degrees Fahrenheit) releases the trapped carbon dioxide from the pores, regenerating about 90% of the material's binding sites. The process is relatively simple and can be easily scaled up for industrial applications.
Using this material to capture carbon dioxide from point sources, such as post-combustion flue gases, would cost $21 per ton, according to researchers' estimates, compared with the cost of current processes used to extract carbon dioxide from natural gas feedstocks. Approximately US$80-160 per ton.
To achieve the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, there is an increasing need for cost-effective carbon capture technology. If this technology can be promoted, it will help us solve two important environmental problems of plastic waste and carbon dioxide at the same time.