Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




CARBON WORLDS
Buckyballs enhance carbon capture
by Staff Writers
Houston TX (SPX) Dec 05, 2014


Carbon-60 molecules, also known as buckyballs, were combined with amines in a compound that absorbs a fifth of its weight in carbon dioxide. It shows potential as an environmentally friendly material for capturing carbon from natural gas wells and industrial plants. Image courtesy of the Barron Research Group/Rice University.

Rice University scientists have discovered an environmentally friendly carbon-capture method that could be equally adept at drawing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial flue gases and natural gas wells.

The Rice lab of chemist Andrew Barron revealed in a proof-of-concept study that amine-rich compounds are highly effective at capturing the greenhouse gas when combined with carbon-60 molecules. The research is the subject of an open-access paper in Nature's online journal Scientific Reports.

"We had two goals," Barron said. "One was to make the compound 100 percent selective between carbon dioxide and methane at any pressure and temperature. The other was to reduce the high temperature needed by other amine solutions to get the carbon dioxide back out again.

We've been successful on both counts." Tests from one to 50 atmospheric pressures showed the Rice compound captured a fifth of its weight in carbon dioxide but no measurable amount of methane, Barron said, and the material did not degrade over many absorption/desorption cycles.

Carbon-60, the soccer ball-shaped molecule also known as buckminsterfullerene (or the "buckyball") was discovered at Rice by Nobel Prize laureates Richard Smalley, Robert Curl and Harold Kroto in 1985.

The ultimate curvature of buckyballs may make them the best possible way to bind amine molecules that capture carbon dioxide but allow desirable methane to pass through. The Rice lab used buckyballs as crosslinkers between amines, nitrogen-based molecules drawn from polyethyleneimine.

The lab produced a brown, spongy material in which hydrophobic (water-avoiding) buckyballs forced the hydrophilic (water-seeking) amines to the outside, where passing carbon dioxide could bind to the exposed nitrogen.

When Barron and his team began combining carbons and amines several years ago, they noticed an interesting progression: Flat graphene absorbed carbon dioxide well, multiwalled nanotubes absorbed it better, and thinner single-walled nanotubes even better.

"That suggested the curvature was important," Barron said. "C-60, being a sphere, has the highest possible curvature among carbon materials." He said the Rice compound compared favorably with other carbon-capture candidates based on metal organic frameworks (MOFs).

"It's about equivalent to the best MOFs for carbon capture, but our material is far more selective. Methane just doesn't absorb," Barron said.

Unlike MOFs, he noted the Rice compound absorbed wet carbon dioxide as well as dry.

Barron said it's just as important that the compound release carbon dioxide efficiently for reuse. "We noticed a long time ago that if we attached amines to carbon nanotubes or graphene, they lowered the temperature at which carbon dioxide dissolves," Barron said.

Industrial amine-based scrubbers must be heated to 140 degrees Celsius to release captured carbon dioxide; lowering the temperature would save energy.

"Compared to the cost of current amine used, C-60 is pricy," Barron admitted. "But the energy costs would be lower because you'd need less to remove the carbon dioxide." He noted industrial scrubbers lose amines through heating, so they must constantly be replenished.

"They're forever adding reagent, which is nice for the companies that sell amine, but not so good for those trying to separate the carbon dioxide." The researchers are pursuing ways to improve the compound's capacity and rate of absorption.

"We really understand the mechanism, which is important," Barron said. "That allows us to push it further." Lead author Enrico Andreoli is a former Rice postdoctoral researcher and now a senior lecturer at Swansea University, Wales.

Co-authors are former graduate student Eoghan Dillon, undergraduate alumna Laurie Cullum and senior research scientist Lawrence Alemany, all of Rice.

Barron is the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Professor of Chemistry and a professor of materials science and nanoengineering. The Apache Corp., the Robert A. Welch Foundation and the Welsh Government Ser Cymru Program supported the research.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Rice University
Carbon Worlds - where graphite, diamond, amorphous, fullerenes meet






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








CARBON WORLDS
Microbullet hits confirm graphene's strength
Houston TX (SPX) Dec 02, 2014
Graphene's great strength appears to be determined by how well it stretches before it breaks, according to Rice University scientists who tested the material's properties by peppering it with microbullets. The two-dimensional carbon honeycomb discovered a decade ago is thought to be much stronger than steel. But the Rice lab of materials scientist Edwin "Ned" Thomas didn't need even close ... read more


CARBON WORLDS
Carnegie Mellon Unveils Lunar Rover "Andy"

Why we should mine the moon

Young Volcanoes on the Moon

Russia Preparing Joint Moon Exploration Agreement With EU

CARBON WORLDS
Traces of possible Martian biological activity inside a meteorite

Meteorite stirs life-on-Mars debate

NASA's Orion Flight Test and the Journey to Mars

Orion Test Flight a Critical Step on NASA's Journey to Mars

CARBON WORLDS
NASA's deep space capsule poised for 2nd launch bid

NASA counts down key Orion test flight

Rocket woes delay deep space Orion launch until Friday

ISS astronauts will have to wait until April for espresso

CARBON WORLDS
Service module of China's returned lunar orbiter reaches L2 point

China Launches Second Disaster Relief Satellite

China expects to introduce space law around 2020

China launches new remote sensing satellite

CARBON WORLDS
NASA's CATS Eyes Clouds, Smoke and Dust from the Space Station

3-D Printer Creates First Object in Space on ISS

Soyuz docks at Space Station; Expedition 42 joins crew

Italy's first female astronaut heads to ISS in Russian craft

CARBON WORLDS
Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday

Launch of European Ariane-5 Space Rocket From Kourou Postponed

Japan launches rocket carrying asteroid probe

Go-ahead given for Ariane 5 dual-payload mission

CARBON WORLDS
'Mirage Earth' exoplanets may have burned away chances for life

Stardust Not Likely to Block Planet Portraits

Ground-based detection of exoplanets

Ground-Based Detection Paves Way to Remote Sensing of Small Exoplanets

CARBON WORLDS
See it, touch it, feel it

Chemists fabricate novel rewritable paper

Space travel is a bit safer than expected

Penn Research Shows Way to Design 'Digital' Metamaterials




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.