Enhanced CO2 adsorption using Ru or Ni in combination with alkaline metal oxides and high surface area carriers

This technology is a tandem system for the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide gas into useful fuel products.

Unmet Need: Efficient process systems for combined CO2 capture and conversion

Direct air capture (DAC) is an emerging set of technologies aimed at curbing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere through CO2 capture at atmospheric concentrations (~420 ppm). Unfortunately, due to the dilute concentrations it is chemically and financially difficult to achieve this feat at scale. One pathway towards incentivizing DAC systems is to integrate them with CO2-conversion technologies, such as CO2 upgrading to higher fuels and chemicals (e.g., methane, methanol, etc.). However, the current combination of these two systems is not readily performed or available.

The Technology: Robust and regenerable chemical platform for CO2 capture and upgrading

This technology is a nano-dispersed dual-functional material comprised of an alkaline adsorbent and catalytic metal for the tandem capture and conversion of CO2 at robust operating conditions. The capture component includes a sorbent material which can concentrate the CO2 at extremely low concentrations while the conversion component includes efficient materials to convert the CO2 to higher order fuels, such as methane. The dual-functional system is highly regenerable over numerous cycles and is enhanced by moisture and is stable in dry conditions, something that conventional direct air capture (DAC) systems may not offer.

Applications:

• Carbon dioxide capture and conversion
• Gaseous fuel production (e.g., methane)
• Climate change mitigation
• On-site industrial fuel production
• Green H2 utilization
• Only Ni is required for enhancement of CO2 adsorption where only CO2 is the desired product

Advantages:

• Provides CO2 capture and conversion in a single material
• Easily scalable and utilizes readily available manufacturing techniques
• Can capture CO2 at a wide range of concentrations
• Moisture enhances capture of CO2 and is tolerant to oxygen environments
• Requires extremely low-to-negligible amounts of precious metals.
• Nickel only can be used to enhance CO2 adsorption

Lead Inventor:

Robert J. Farrauto, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending(WO/2022/256361)

Related Publications:

• Arellano-Trevino MA, Kanani N, Jeong-Potter CW, Farrauto RJ. “Bimetallic catalysts for CO2 capture and hydrogenation at simulated flue gas conditions” Chem Eng J. 2019 Nov 1; 375: 121953.

• Arellano-Trevino MA, He Z, Libby MC, Farrauto RJ. “Catalysts and adsorbents for CO2 capture and conversion with dual function materials: Limitations of Ni-containing DFMs for flue gas applications” CO2 Util. 2019 May; 31: 143-151.

• Chae Jeong-Potter, Monica Abdallah, Shruti Kota, and Robert Farrauto. “Enhancing the CO2 Adsorption Capacity of γ‑Al2O3 Supported Alkali and Alkaline-Earth Metals: Impacts of Dual Function Material (DFM) Preparation Methods” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2022; 61: 10474−10482.

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU22170

• Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu