CO2 capture and valorization

Following the principle of membrane deployment for a more sustainable society, our lab has joined the global effort to address climate change. So far, the work has been focused on carbon capture and its valorization in the form of bicarbonate salts and/or organic molecules. First, carbon capture is performed by absorbing CO2 in a gas-liquid membrane contactor set-up. Greener solvents are of interest for the absorption, although they are often kinetically limited. Current work addresses the enhancement of the absorption by promoting the solvents with amino acids or enzymes (either dissolved in the solvent or immobilized on the membrane surface). Envisaging a more realistic study of the process performance, the effect of SO2 and NOX in the effluent gas to be treated by the membrane contactor is also considered. After the absorption step, the bicarbonate salts must be separated from the homogenous catalysts, i.e. dissolved enzymes or amino acids, either by ultrafiltration or nanofiltration processes. This allows the reutilization of the catalysts. In the case of enzyme immobilized on the membrane surface, this step can be avoided. The final product is obtained after concentration and crystallization of the aqueous bicarbonate solution using membrane crystallization (OMD, DCMD or VMD).

Researchers: Yusak Hartanto, Marie-Charlotte Sparenberg, Mar Garcia Alvarez, Kamyll Dawn Cocon