Catalytic strategies for copolymerization of pure CO2 byproduct generated from biorenewable process

减轻人为二氧化碳影响的众多策略之一是碳捕获和转化

One of the many strategies for mitigating the effects of anthropogenic CO2 is carbon capture and conversion, in particular to polymers. One strategy for incorporation of CO2 in polymers is copolymerization with functionalized species such as epoxides. The CO2 used for the polymers is usually generated and captured after burning hydrocarbons, usually as a byproduct of energy development. An important milestone in this field would be to use CO2 generated from renewable/waste sources. The challenge in this endeavor comes from generating CO2 from biorenewable/waste sources that is sufficiently pure to make a catalytic process viable. Nexterra Systems Corp. is a Vancouver based company that has been providing clean energy generated from local, renewable waste. They have developed a biomass gasification system that generates a waste gas stream of CO2 with negligible trace contaminants and provides a possibility of using the waste stream as a source of carbon for further reactivity. We will work with Nexterra to develop a methodology to incorporate their biorenewable waste CO2 stream into new materials. This project has the potential to have a significant impact in the carbon mitigation measures in this industry, creating value-added product from waste.