The newest method, patented by UA and Dr. Jason E. Bara, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, uses a form of liquid salt that could be swapped with chemicals currently used to scrub harmful emissions, such as carbon dioxide, or CO2, from industrial emissions. In a different patent granted in August 2013, Bara proposed switching currently used chemicals with a class of low volatility organic molecules. It is all part of his research focus of showing different, and possibly better, ways to capture harmful emissions.
The most common and most studied method is introducing monoethanolamine, or MEA, into natural gas or post-combustion emissions, a process that can capture about 90 percent of CO2 from flue gas.
The use of MEA to scrub flue gas is energy intensive since recycling the solution requires boiling it to desorb, or rid, the CO2 before recycle of the MEA solution back into contact with the flue gas. The cost of the energy needed to use MEA in power plants, for example, would likely be passed onto consumers, Bara said.
Bara's work shows that swapping most of the water in the process for other chemical solvents saves energy since the solvent can be regenerated without boiling large amounts of water, a cost and energy-intensive process. Bara's research shows the solvent system can capture the same or more CO2 than MEA.
The cost of building and operating a CO2 capture process to treat 90 percent of a plant's emissions is a major reason the energy industry has been reluctant to embrace carbon capture on a large scale, Bara said.
"Solvent-based processes are leading contenders to be the first deployed in carbon capture, so it's crucial that research consider a wide variety of solvents before making a decision on what's 'best'," he said. "This latest patent offers a new solvent composition that eliminates organic vapor losses since it contains a salt."
Engineering Professor Hopes to Improve Carbon-Capture with Patented Technology
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