"Biological" membrane binds 90% of carbon dioxide from emissions from power plants

"Biological" membrane binds 90% of carbon dioxide from emissions from power plants

18/05/2018

Researchers 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.

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