Catalyst-TiO(OH)2 could drastically reduce the energy consumption of CO2 capture

Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 10;9(1):2672. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05145-0.

Abstract

Implementing Paris Climate Accord is inhibited by the high energy consumption of the state-of-the-art CO2 capture technologies due to the notoriously slow kinetics in CO2 desorption step of CO2 capture. To address the challenge, here we report that nanostructured TiO(OH)2 as a catalyst is capable of drastically increasing the rates of CO2 desorption from spent monoethanolamine (MEA) by over 4500%. This discovery makes CO2 capture successful at much lower temperatures, which not only dramatically reduces energy consumption but also amine losses and prevents emission of carcinogenic amine-decomposition byproducts. The catalytic effect of TiO(OH)2 is observed with Raman characterization. The stabilities of the catalyst and MEA are confirmed with 50 cyclic CO2 sorption and sorption. A possible mechanism is proposed for the TiO(OH)2-catalyzed CO2 capture. TiO(OH)2 could be a key to the future success of Paris Climat e Accord.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.