Nanocomposite MFI−alumina membranes: high-flux hollow fibers for CO2 capture from internal combustion vehicles

The transport field accounts for about 35% of CO2 emissions in France, while energy production only involves 16% of the emissions. The strong contribution of transport to the CO2 emission pattern in France is mainly ascribed to the great development of the nuclear field as energy vector. Therefore, in order to meet Kyoto targets, CO2 emissions in vehicles should be drastically reduced in France in the forthcoming decades. To this aim, taking into account a scenario where thermal engines will keep their supremacy as the main propulsion technology at short and mid terms, in addition to increasing more and more energy efficiency, a possibility to reduce drastically CO2 emissions from transport could involve direct CO2 capture and in situ storage from exhaust gases. In this study, we propose the use of high-flux nanocomposite MFI−alumina hollow-fiber membranes recently developed in our laboratory for direct CO2 capture from mobile sources. A critical discussion is provided about the technico-economical feasibility (i.e., CO2 recovery, CO2 purity in the permeate, module volume, energy overcomsumption, and autonomy) of a membrane-based unit for CO2 capture and liquefaction in the special case of heavy vehicles (over 3500 kg) using conventional diesel propulsion standards