Imperial College London
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Professor Niall Mac Dowell FIChemE FRSC

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Centre for Environmental Policy

Professor of Future Energy Systems
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 9298niall Website

 
 
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Location

 

16 Prince's GardensSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Danaci:2020:10.1039/c9me00102f,
author = {Danaci, D and Bui, M and Mac, Dowell N and Petit, C},
doi = {10.1039/c9me00102f},
journal = {Molecular Systems Design and Engineering},
pages = {212--231},
title = {Exploring the limits of adsorption-based CO2 capture using MOFs with PVSA – from molecular design to process economics},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c9me00102f},
volume = {5},
year = {2020}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have taken the materials science world by storm, with potentials of near infinite possibilities and the panacea for adsorption-based carbon capture. Yet, no pilot-scale (or larger-scale) study exists on MOFs for carbon capture. Beyond material scalability issues, this clear gap between the scientific and engineering literature relates to the absence of suitable and accessible assessment of MOFs in an adsorption process. Here, we have developed a simple adsorbent screening tool with process economics to evaluate adsorbents for post-combustion capture, while also considering factors relevant to industry. Specifically, we have assessed the 25 adsorbents (22 MOFs, 2 zeolites, 1 activated carbon) against performance constraints – i.e. CO2 purity and recovery – and cost. We have considered four different CO2 capture scenarios to represent a range of CO2 inlet concentrations. The cost is compared to that of amine-based solvents for which a corresponding model was developed. Using the model developed, we have conceptually assessed the materials properties and process parameters influencing the purity, recovery and cost in order to design the ‘best’ adsorbent. We have also set-up a tool for readers to screen their own adsorbent. In this contribution, we show that minimal N2 adsorption and moderate enthalpies of adsorption are key in obtaining good process performance and reducing cost. This stands in contrast to the popular approaches of maximizing CO2 capacity or surface area. Of the 22 MOFs evaluated, UTSA-16 shows the best performance and lowest cost for post-combustion capture, having performance in-line with the benchmark, zeolite 13X. Mg-MOF-74 performs poorly. The cost of using the adsorbents remains overall higher than that of an amine-based absorption process. Ultimately, this study provides specific directions for material scientists to design adsorbents and assess their performance at the process scale. This
AU  - Danaci,D
AU  - Bui,M
AU  - Mac,Dowell N
AU  - Petit,C
DO  - 10.1039/c9me00102f
EP  - 231
PY  - 2020///
SN  - 2058-9689
SP  - 212
TI  - Exploring the limits of adsorption-based CO2 capture using MOFs with PVSA – from molecular design to process economics
T2  - Molecular Systems Design and Engineering
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c9me00102f
UR  - https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2019/ME/C9ME00102F
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/73579
VL  - 5
ER  -
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