Advanced carbon capture materials

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Canada recognizes that "carbon dioxide, representing 75% of the overall impact of all greenhouse gases (GHGs) is the main cause of human-induced global warming and associated climate change". In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) urged rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in energy, industry, buildings, transport and cities, to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, requiring a 45% reduction in anthropogenic CO2 emissions by 2030, relative to 2010 levels. CO2 capture and sequestration/utilization from large-point sources is recognized as one of the most effective strategies to curb GHG emissions. At the University of Ottawa, we discovered and patented a family of powerful adsorbent materials with unparalleled ability to reversibly adsorb (capture) CO2 from industrial gases and desorb (release) pure CO2 for sequestration or utilization. Inventys Inc. (Burnaby, BC), a leading Canadian clean-tech company, developed a revolutionary process for ultra-rapid adsorption and desorption of CO2 using uniquely structured adsorbents. Their proprietary VeloxoTherm process consists of a rotating assembly that allows the whole adsorption-desorption cycle to take place in three steps within one minute. The material is first exposed to the CO2-containing gas mixture (adsorption) followed by steam stripping (for recovery of pure CO2) and cooling in air, before starting a new cycle after a full rotation. The efficiency of the VeloxoTherm process depends primarily on the adsorbent, including how much and how fast it adsorbs CO2, and how stable it is in steam and in air. Hence, the overarching objective of this project is to develop state-of-the-art CO2 adsorbents at the University of Ottawa to be integrated in Inventys' VeloxoTherm technology.