(462c) Processible Polymeric Sorbents for Direct Air Capture

Direct air capture (DAC) technologies have received great interest from governments and industries worldwide to combat the ever-growing concern of CO₂ emissions. The cost of operation in DAC is high due to the very low concentration of CO₂ (400 ppm) in the air. Therefore, there is a need for high CO₂ capacity sorbents that are chemically stable, inexpensive, regenerated at low temperature, and capable of fast sorption and desorption cycles. Highly-performant sorbents usually require a processibility step as the materials in particle (powder) form are not practical in DAC. When the sorbents are structured, there is a need for additional materials such as binders and polymers. In this study, we present the development of processible polymeric sorbents to challenge the problems associated with DAC materials. We utilize porous polymers and fillers to demonstrate high CO₂ capture performance under DAC settings. The sorbent is processed into various form factors including solid fibers, electrospun fibers, flat sheets, etc., without a need for additional materials or processing steps. The sorbent shows over 1 mmol/g CO₂ uptake capacity and that low-energy regeneration is possible.

Reference Sekizkardes, A. K.; Kusuma, V.A.; Muldoon P.; Hoffman, J. S.; Steckel J.; Hopkinson D. “Single polymer sorbent fibers for high performance and rapid direct air capture.” J. Mater. Chemistry A 2023, DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/D2TA09270K