ECO-CBET: GOALI: Environmental Convergence in Chemical Process Systems - Integrating CO2 Capture and In-Situ Conversion with Ethylene Manufacture

该项目将环境趋同研究应用于减少与世界主要商品化学工艺之一——乙烷蒸汽裂解生产乙烯（一种广泛用于化学制造的基本分子）——有关的二氧化碳排放。蒸汽裂解装置是二氧化碳排放的主要来源（2014年美国为1880万吨/年），约占美国固定源二氧化碳排放量的0.5%。该项目重点研究将二氧化碳捕获和转化能力整合到现有的蒸汽裂解装置中，从而大大减少这些装置的碳足迹。环境融合研究将通过一个由学术和行业研究人员组成的团队来实现，他们将在四个关键领域提供专业知识：1)二氧化碳捕获，2)二氧化碳转化为高价值化学品，3)过程系统工程集成，4)环境可持续性评估。除了技术方面，在与行业合作伙伴巴斯夫的合作下，该项目将为技术实施铺平直接道路。教育和推广工作的重点是在工业和学术环境中加强融合的研发实践，这将促进未来的劳动力更好地应对世界上最紧迫的科学、工程和可持续发展挑战。该项目将二氧化碳捕获和转化为甲醇整合到乙烯生产装置中，其中二氧化碳来自蒸汽裂解炉的烟气，并与H2副产物反应，利用裂解炉的余热进行二氧化碳捕获和转化过程。专门设计的离子液体（ILs）将用于二氧化碳捕获，研究重点是在经济可行的低温甲醇合成过程中平衡捕获，二氧化碳活化和催化转化步骤所需的基础化学。为此，分子水平的基本发展将与广泛的过程建模、仿真和设计优化相结合。将对具有代表性的乙烯和甲醇联合生产设施进行严格的生命周期评估（LCA），并与独立的工艺装置进行比较，包括是否集成了二氧化碳捕获和转化。教育和推广活动的亮点包括：1)大学团队围绕二氧化碳捕获和转化的研究报告进行系列研讨会，同时由巴斯夫工程师讲授二氧化碳捕获和转化的工业机会；2)研究生实习；3)通过UTeachEngineering：“工程师你的世界”项目向高中生传播二氧化碳捕获和转化模块。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project applies convergent environmental research to the mitigation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with one of the world’s major commodity chemical processes – the steam cracking of ethane to produce ethylene (a building block molecule used widely in chemical manufacturing). Steam crackers are a major source of CO2 emissions (18.8 million metric tons/year in the U.S. in 2014), resulting in about 0.5% of all stationary-source CO2 emissions in the U.S. The project focuses on research that integrates capability for CO2 capture and conversion into existing steam cracker units, thereby dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of those units. Environmentally convergent research will be realized through an assembled team of academic and industry researchers bringing specialized expertise in four critical areas: 1) CO2 capture, 2) CO2 conversion to higher-value chemicals, 3) process systems engineering integration, and 4) environmental sustainability assessment. Beyond the technical aspects, the project will pave a direct path to technology implementation, as aided by the collaboration with industry partner BASF. Educational and outreach efforts, focused on enhancing convergent R&D practices in both industrial and academic settings, will promote a future workforce much better equipped to tackle the world’s most pressing scientific, engineering and sustainability challenges.The project integrates CO2 capture and conversion to methanol into an ethylene production unit, where the CO2 comes from the flue gas of the steam cracker furnace, and is reacted with H2 byproduct, utilizing waste heat from the cracker to run the CO2 capture and conversion process. Specially designed ionic liquids (ILs) will be employed for CO2 capture, with research emphasis on the fundamental chemistry needed to balance the capture, CO2 activation, and catalytic conversion steps in an economically viable low-temperature methanol synthesis process. To that end, fundamental developments at the molecular level will be converged with extensive process modeling, simulation, and design optimization. Rigorous life cycle assessment (LCA) will be conducted for representative ethylene and methanol co-production facilities, and compared to stand-alone process units, with and without integrated CO2 capture and conversion. Highlights of the educational and outreach activities include, 1) a seminar series revolving around research presentations on CO2 capture and conversion by the university team balanced by lectures on industrial opportunities for CO2 capture and conversion by BASF engineers, 2) graduate student internships, and 3) a CO2 capture and conversion module for high school students to be disseminated through the UTeachEngineering: “Engineer Your World” program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.