"Biological" membrane binds 90% of carbon dioxide from emissions from power plants
18/05/2018Researchers from the Sandia National Laboratories in the US have
developed a new, bio-inspired film that can bind carbon dioxide from
emissions from power plants.
"Our
inexpensive method follows the example of nature in the use of a
18-nanometer-thick water membrane that incorporates natural enzymes to
block 90% of the released carbon dioxide. This performance is almost 70% better than current commercial methods
and this is done with a fraction of the cost, "said lead investigator of
the lab and professor at the University of New Mexico, Jeff Brinker.
According
to Brinker, it has been prohibitively expensive to remove carbon
dioxide from carbon smoke, with the available polymer films. However, the membrane of his team has achieved a "relatively low cost of $ 40 per tonne of carbon dioxide".
Researchers
call the membrane "membrane and enzyme hybrid" because it functions as a
filter but is almost saturated with carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme that
has been developed by living cells for millions of years to get rid of
carbon dioxide efficiently and quickly. " Professor
of the same university, Ying-Bing Jiang, had the idea of using
aqueous membranes inspired by processes in the human body that separate
carbon dioxide. According to Brinker, the layout of the membrane in the power plant's
smoke duct will be similar to that of the catalyst in a conventional
car.
The
membrane has been patented and some energy companies have already shown
interest in it after many months of successful laboratory testing.