Nanostructured CO2 Separation Membrane for Cost-Effective Carbon Capture

CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants make up a significant portion of the United States greenhouse gas emissions inventory. Transformational carbon capture technologies capable of capturing greater than 90% of CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants at a cost to capture of less than $40/ton are needed to enable low-cost, CO2- free, electricity production from coal. A nanocomposite CO2 selective membrane capable of extracting CO2 from flue gas at a very high flux will be developed and demonstrated in the proposed program. The high CO2 flux enables very low capital cost membrane systems to be employed to recover CO2 from flue gas at a cost of $20 to $23/ton CO2 captured. Thin, robust, inexpensive nanocomposite membranes will be synthesized in the first phase of the program. The composition, durability, and gas permeability of the membranes will be characterized to identify the most promising membranes. A CO2 recovery unit employing the membranes will be modelled and CO2 recovery costs will be predicted. Application of the proposed technology within power plants, petrochemical plants, and industrial gas production facilities offers the potential to significantly reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions associated with fossil fuel usage. The membrane technology will also find additional use in natural gas processing.