Carbon dioxide is a very common industrial waste product that is emitted into the air in large amounts from chimneys. Now, researchers have developed a new type of fluorinated membrane that can selectively filter carbon dioxide in the flue gas at the emission point. Carbon capture is a promising research avenue, which helps to slow down the process of climate change and first prevent the release of greenhouse gases. To this end, scientists are exploring many different technologies, including clay, bubble-like membranes, ionic liquids, metal-organic frameworks and porous powders.
The new research conducted by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee is based on one of the simplest forms of carbon capture: polymer membranes. These membranes can be extended to the chimney of the facility, where they can selectively filter carbon dioxide from the flue gas, while allowing gases such as oxygen and nitrogen to escape into the atmosphere.
The secret ingredient of the team's new membrane is fluorine. This element is particularly tightly bound to carbon, making it an attractive option for carbon capture. The researchers started with a fluorine-based polymer and then heated it to carbonize it. This gives the material a porous structure while retaining fluorinated groups, thereby increasing its choice of carbon dioxide.
This method yields a carbon dioxide hydrophilic material with high surface area and ultra-micropores, which is stable under high-temperature working conditions," said Yang Zhenzhen, the first author of the study. "All these factors make it a carbon capture and separation Promising candidate for membrane. "
Normally, such a membrane has a trade-off between selectivity to certain gases and permeability-when one rises, the other falls. But the team said that fluorine-based membranes balance these two characteristics well, breaking the so-called Robeson upper limit. The team said that few materials can do this. Even better, fluorine and other materials are abundant and inexpensive, and the production process is simple, which will help expand the scale.
In future work, the team plans to further study the selective mechanism of fluorine for carbon dioxide and try to further improve the formulation.
The research results were published in the "Chem" magazine.
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