HELIOS-NRG LLC — Department of Energy STTR Phase I: 18d

Description

As fossil fuels continue to serve as a major energy source, CO2 capture for utilization or sequestration is the only option to mitigate the CO2 emissions to the environment. However, the separation of CO2 from flue gas is an extremely costly proposition with existing technologies. Advanced membrane technology may address this challenge, if new membranes with CO2 permeance of 4,500 gpu and CO2/N2 selectivity of 40 can be developed. We propose to develop novel, scalable membranes based on microphase-separated block copolymers of metal-organic frameworks (BCP-MOFs) and rubbery poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) to achieve superior CO2/N2 separation properties. The continuous phase is based on state-of-the-art amorphous PEO and the discontinuous phase of MOFs has permanent pores and extremely high gas permeability. If successfully developed, these game-changing membranes would outperform currently leading membranes by 100% - 300% in CO2 permeance, which will enable the membrane processes to meet the 2035 DOE target of <$30/ton CO2 captured with a CO2 purity of 95%. The proposed Phase 1 project will demonstrate the technical feasibility of thin film composite (TFC) membranes, based on BCP-MOPs, for CO2 capture from flue gas. The polymerizable MOFs will be designed, synthesized and incorporated into cross-linked PEO via copolymerization. A TFC membrane with CO2 permeance of >4500 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity >40 will be demonstrated. Models and process cycles suitable for these membranes will be developed and preliminary economics projected