2 April – Carbon Capture and Reliable Storage

Date: 2 April 2018
Time: 12:00pm
Location: Baker 129 Conference Room
Speaker: Jennifer Wilcox
Topic: Carbon Capture and Reliable Storage

Abstract: The scale by which CO₂ must be mitigated worldwide dwarfs the existing chemical industry, making utilization of CO₂ as a chemical feedstock a minor component of the portfolio of mitigation options. Carbon capture and storage is one strategy that could potentially mitigate gigatons of CO₂ emissions per year, provided geological storage of CO₂ is feasible. The scale and energy requirements associated with CO₂ separation processes will be presented. Strategies based upon catalytic membrane separation processes in particular, will be of focus. Regeneration of CO₂ is known to be a significant component of sorption-based separation processes and is absent when using membrane technologies. This work involves the adsorption, dissociation, and sub-surface diffusion of N₂ in Group V-based metals, including vanadium, niobium, and their alloys with ruthenium. Experimental N₂ flux measurements have been carried out to validate the theoretical predictions. Application of separation of N₂ to use as a feedstock for ammonia synthesis will be presented.