Magnetic metal-organic framework composites for pollutant gas capture

自工业革命以来，大气中温室气体二氧化碳(CO2)的浓度急剧增加，从典型的180-280ppm增加到400ppm以上。这对环境和社会具有强烈的负面影响，可能导致2030年至2050年期间全球每年新增25万人死亡。全球人为二氧化碳排放的最大贡献者是燃煤电厂(2018年为10.1GT，占总排放量的30%)。燃烧后的二氧化碳捕获设施可以改装成现有的发电站。然而，目前用于该过程的水胺吸收技术对分离和提纯的能源要求很高，使发电厂的能源需求增加了25%-40%，每千瓦时的电力成本增加了0.06美元。人们已经研究了替代方法，如物理吸附剂、膜、化学环路和固体吸附剂，如多孔炭、沸石、氧化铝和金属有机骨架。其中，固体吸附剂与其他技术相比具有许多优点，例如从物理吸附中再生所需的能量更少，以及对二氧化碳的容量和选择性更高。金属有机骨架是带有有机连接物的金属离子/团簇的多孔晶格，由于其可调谐的性质以及高的孔隙率和内表面积而引起人们的特别兴趣。建议的解决方案和方法在实际工作条件下评估用于碳捕获应用的金属-有机骨架，同时考虑到工业工艺设计，对于它们的成功利用至关重要。这就要求材料具有高的热稳定性和化学稳定性，并开发节能工艺。磁性骨架复合材料将金属有机骨架与磁性材料结合在一起，表现出许多其他材料无法比拟的优点(例如，增强的热稳定性、简单的磁场诱导分离、用于骨架合成或再生的高能效局部感应加热以及磁场辅助流态化)。本项目旨在开发新型磁性骨架复合材料(由功能化磁性材料和最先进的金属有机骨架组成)，用于二氧化碳捕获，具有燃烧后烟气的轮廓和处理能力。将探索这些复合材料的可扩展和可持续的合成，以及它们的二氧化碳吸收能力，理想的是通过高效的再生过程。应使用模型烟气混合物进行测试，并将其性能与替代材料进行比较。

Since the industrial revolution, a sharp increase in atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) has been observed from the typical 180-280 ppm to over 400 ppm. This has strongly negative implications for the environment and society, likely resulting in 250,000 additional deaths worldwide annually between 2030 and 2050.The largest contributor to global anthropogenic CO2 emissions is coal-fired power plants (10.1 Gt in 2018, 30% of total emissions). Post-combustion CO2 capture facilities can be retrofitted into existing power stations. However, the current aqueous amine absorption technologies for this process have high energy requirements for separation and purification, increasing a power plant's energy demand by 25-40% or electricity cost by $0.06 per KWh.Alternatives have been investigated such as physical absorbents, membranes, chemical looping and solid adsorbents, e.g. porous carbons, zeolites, alumina and metal-organic frameworks. Of these, solid adsorbents possess many advantages over other technologies such as a reduced energy for regeneration from physisorption and greater capacity and selectivity for CO2. Metal-organic frameworks are porous lattices of metal ions/clusters with organic linkers and are of particular interest due to their tuneable natures and high porosities and internal surface areas. These can result in excellent CO2 adsorption profiles, optimisable for specific flue gas conditions.Proposed solution and methodologyEvaluating metal-organic frameworks for carbon capture applications in realistic working conditions, with consideration of industrial process design is of vital importance for their successful utilisation. This requires materials with high thermal and chemical stabilities and the development of energy-efficient processes. Magnetic framework composites contain metal-organic frameworks combined with magnetic materials and show many advantages over other materials (for example, enhanced thermal stability, simple magnetic-field induced separation, energy-efficient localised induction heating for framework synthesis or regeneration and magnetic field assisted fluidisation).This project aims to develop novel magnetic framework composites (consisting of functionalised magnetic materials and state-of-the-art metal-organic frameworks) for CO2 capture with profiles and processing capabilities for post-combustion flue gas. Scalable and sustainable syntheses will be explored for these composites, along with their CO2 adsorption capabilities, ideally with efficient regeneration processes. Model flue gas mixtures shall be used for testing and their properties compared to alternative materials.