EAGER: Advanced Buffer Materials for CO2 Control, Improved Air Quality and Energy Conservation in Commercial Buildings

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1549736RezaeiIndoor air pollution, for example, vapors from cooking, requires energy to insure adequate ventilation in homes. In addition to indoor air pollution, CO2 generated by people is not removed efficiently without expending energy. Further, CO2 has recently been shown to impair cognition and productivity. In this research, a novel passive CO2 control system is to be developed that incorporates advanced sorbents into surface coatings. These coatings adsorb CO2 during high-occupancy periods and release the CO2 during lower occupancy periods, thereby reducing peak concentrations of CO2, improving air quality and reduce the necessary ventilation energy requirements.The project is organized into three main tasks. In Task 1, CO2 sorbents are identified (or developed), characterized and tested for their adsorptive performance. A large number of possible CO2 sorbents have already been developed for CO2 capture from power plants. Of these, zeolites and activated carbon are likely to be good candidates for this application because they operate at low temperatures and CO2 binds weakly. In Task 2, sorbents identified in Task 1 will be incorporated into surface coatings. These coatings are intended to be very similar to those that would be used in buildings, e.g. water-based latex paint, so that the technology can be readily transferred to application. Experiments to test the adsorptive performance will be performed in bench-scale reactors. Key outcomes are coatings that will adsorb CO2 rapidly but also desorb readily without heating. In Task 3, the newly developed coatings will be applied to walls in a full-sized (8 m3) chamber. The chamber simulates a small room with appropriate ventilation rates, surface area, CO2 source rates, temperature and humidity controls. In this chamber, high and low occupancy periods can be simulated and the dynamic CO2 buffering capability of each coating can be assessed under full-scale, realistic conditions. The proposed research represents the first application of passive CO2 buffering technology to the problem of building air quality control and develops novel sorbent-coating systems that are uniquely suited to the conditions in buildings and requirements for non-thermal sorption/desorption. Further, it generates data on CO2 buffering under realistic conditions that allow for extrapolation to multiple building types and conditions and also generates predictions about the applicability and energy consequences of CO2 buffering for building stock across the U.S.