Scientists from the University of California believe they could significantly cut the costs of capturing carbon from coal-fired power plants using a new material, a metal-organic framework (MOF) modified with diamines.
Writing in the journal Nature, the UC Berkeley chemists say that the material, a metal-organic framework (MOF) modified with nitrogen compounds known as diamines, can capture as well as release carbon dioxide at lower temperatures than current carbon capture materials.
This means that the energy required by the carbon capture process would be much lower than for current techniques and therefore less costly. The MOF material can also be ‘tuned’ to capture carbon dioxide at a set temperature, making it possible for it to be used in other applications such as submarines, says the university.
MOFs are composites of metals — in this case, magnesium or manganese — with organic compounds that, together, form a porous structure with microscopic, parallel channels. The diamines bind to the metal atoms of the MOF and then react with carbon dioxide to form a compound that completely lines the interior channels of the MOF. The process is also ‘cooperative’ in that one carbon dioxide molecule will help other molecules to bind next to it.
The process is easily reversed with a temperature rise of 50°C, allowing the carbon dioxide to be released.
The UC Berkeley team has established a startup company, Mosaic Materials, and has plans in the works for a pilot study of carbon dioxide separation from power plant emissions.
