CO{sub 2} Capture from Flue Gas Using Solid Molecular Basket Sorbents

The objective of this project is to develop a new generation of solid, regenerable polymeric molecular basket sorbent (MBS) for more cost-efficient capture and separation of CO{sub 2} from flue gas of coal-fired power plants. The primary goal is to develop a cost-effective MBS sorbent with better thermal stability. To improve the cost-effectiveness of MBS, we have explored commercially available and inexpensive support to replace the more expensive mesoporous molecular sieves like MCM-41 and SBA- 15. In addition, we have developed some advanced sorbent materials with 3D pore structure such as hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) to improve the CO{sub 2} working capacity of MBS, which can also reduce the cost for the whole CO{sub 2} capture process. During the project duration, the concern regarding the desorption rate of MBS sorbents has been raised, because lower desorption rate increases the desorption time for complete regeneration of the sorbent which in turn leads to a lower working capacity if the regeneration time is limited. Thus, the improvement in the thermal stability of MBS became a vital task for later part of this project. The improvement in the thermal stability was performed via increasing the polymer density either using higher molecular weight PEI or PEI cross-linking with an organic compound. Moreover, we have used the computational approach to estimate the interaction of CO{sub 2} with different MBSs for the fundamental understanding of CO{sub 2} sorption, which may benefit the development, design and modification of the sorbents and the process