|
Fantastic plastic could cut CO2 emissions and purify water
October 12, 2007A new membrane that mimics pores found in plants has applications in water, energy and climate change mitigation.
Announced today in the international journal Science, the new plastic membrane allows carbon dioxide and other small molecules to move through its hourglass-shaped pores while preventing the movement of larger molecules like methane. Separating carbon dioxide from methane is important in natural gas processing and gas recovery from landfill.
The new material was developed as part of an international collaboration involving researchers from Hanyang University in Korea, the University of Texas and CSIRO, through its Water for a Healthy Country Flagship.
"This plastic will help solve problems of small molecule separation, whether related to clean coal technology, separating greenhouse gases, increasing the energy efficiency of water purification, or producing and delivering energy from hydrogen," Dr Anita Hill of CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering said.
"The ability of the new plastic to separate small molecules surpasses the limits of any conventional plastics.
"It can separate carbon dioxide from natural gas a few hundred times faster than current plastic membranes and its performance is four times better in terms of purity of the separated gas."
The secret to the new plastic lies in the hourglass shape of its pores, which help to separate molecules faster and using less energy than other pore shapes. In plant cell membranes, hourglass-shaped pores known as aquaporins selectively conduct water molecules in and out of cells while preventing the passage of other molecules such as salt.
The research shows how the plastics can be systematically adjusted to block or pass different molecules depending on the specific application. For example, these membranes may provide a low energy method for the removal of salt from water, carbon dioxide from natural gas, or hydrogen from nitrogen.
Each of these small molecule separations has impact on Australia's interrelated issues of water scarcity, clean energy, and climate change mitigation.
"The new plastic is durable and can withstand high temperature, which is needed for many carbon capture applications. Heat-stable plastics usually have very low gas transport rates, but this plastic surprised us by its heightened ability to transport gases," Dr Hill said.
The research is a partnership between Hanyang University Korea, led by Professor Dr Young Moo Lee and, the University of Texas, led by Professor Benny Freeman, and CSIRO.
Dr Hill and her team analysed the material, which was initially engineered by Ho Bum Park at Hanyang University, to show how it worked.
"Because it is so much more efficient than conventional plastic membranes, this material has huge potential to reduce the environmental footprint of water recycling and desalination," Director of the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Dr Tom Hatton said.
"Our Flagship, with state governments, water utilities and university partners, is working overtime to improve the sustainability of our water resources. We know how to desalinate and we know how to recycle and the challenge is to do this more efficiently and reliably without adding to greenhouse gas emissions.
"This global partnership has the goal of generating scientific understanding that underpins the development and implementation of new membrane technologies for energy and the environment.
"It is also a demonstration of how collaboration across boundaries can produce transformational science with potential societal benefits."
CSIRO Australia
"This plastic will help solve problems of small molecule separation, whether related to clean coal technology, separating greenhouse gases, increasing the energy efficiency of water purification, or producing and delivering energy from hydrogen," Dr Anita Hill of CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering said.
"The ability of the new plastic to separate small molecules surpasses the limits of any conventional plastics.
"It can separate carbon dioxide from natural gas a few hundred times faster than current plastic membranes and its performance is four times better in terms of purity of the separated gas."
The secret to the new plastic lies in the hourglass shape of its pores, which help to separate molecules faster and using less energy than other pore shapes. In plant cell membranes, hourglass-shaped pores known as aquaporins selectively conduct water molecules in and out of cells while preventing the passage of other molecules such as salt.
The research shows how the plastics can be systematically adjusted to block or pass different molecules depending on the specific application. For example, these membranes may provide a low energy method for the removal of salt from water, carbon dioxide from natural gas, or hydrogen from nitrogen.
Each of these small molecule separations has impact on Australia's interrelated issues of water scarcity, clean energy, and climate change mitigation.
"The new plastic is durable and can withstand high temperature, which is needed for many carbon capture applications. Heat-stable plastics usually have very low gas transport rates, but this plastic surprised us by its heightened ability to transport gases," Dr Hill said.
The research is a partnership between Hanyang University Korea, led by Professor Dr Young Moo Lee and, the University of Texas, led by Professor Benny Freeman, and CSIRO.
Dr Hill and her team analysed the material, which was initially engineered by Ho Bum Park at Hanyang University, to show how it worked.
"Because it is so much more efficient than conventional plastic membranes, this material has huge potential to reduce the environmental footprint of water recycling and desalination," Director of the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Dr Tom Hatton said.
"Our Flagship, with state governments, water utilities and university partners, is working overtime to improve the sustainability of our water resources. We know how to desalinate and we know how to recycle and the challenge is to do this more efficiently and reliably without adding to greenhouse gas emissions.
"This global partnership has the goal of generating scientific understanding that underpins the development and implementation of new membrane technologies for energy and the environment.
"It is also a demonstration of how collaboration across boundaries can produce transformational science with potential societal benefits."
CSIRO Australia
CO2 News and Current CO2 Events RSSDrought tolerance in potatoes
Climate change is expected to exacerbate drought events throughout the world, resulting in large-scale ecosystem alteration and failure of drought-sensitive crops.
Geologists discover signs of volcanoes blowing their tops in the deep ocean
A research team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has uncovered evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions deep beneath the ice-covered surface of the Arctic Ocean.
Feeding and fueling the future: the bioenergy potential of reviving abandoned agricultural land
Across the globe, hundreds of millions of acres of once-productive agricultural land lie abandoned, according to a new report from researchers at Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. If this land was used to grow crops for conversion into biofuel, it could help ease the energy crunch without worsening the world food shortage or contributing to global warming.
Carbon emissions trading in Europe: Lessons to be learned
For the past three years, the European Union has been operating the world's largest emissions trading system and the first system to limit and to trade carbon dioxide emissions.
Geoengineering could slow down the global water cycle
As fossil fuel emissions continue to climb, reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth would definitely have a cooling effect on surface temperatures.
Pacific coast turning more acidic
An international team of scientists surveying the waters of the continental shelf off the West Coast of North America has discovered for the first time high levels of acidified ocean water within 20 miles of the shoreline, raising concern for marine ecosystems from Canada to Mexico.
Ocean acidification -- another undesired side effect of fossil fuel-burning
Up to now, the oceans have buffered climate change considerably by absorbing almost one third of the worldwide emitted carbon dioxide. The oceans represent a significant carbon sink, but the uptake of excess CO2 stemming from man's burning of fossil fuels comes at a high cost: ocean acidification.
Energy crops take a roasting
A process used to roast coffee beans could give Britain's biomass a power boost, increasing the energy content of some of the UK's leading energy crops by up to 20 per cent.
Creativity essential for climate targets -- existing -- housing
It is a great shame that the most creative professional group in the building trade, the architects, rarely apply themselves to existing housing. A large proportion of the Netherlands' climate targets will after all have to be achieved within existing housing.
Finding the Real Potential of No-Till Farming for Sequestering Carbon
The potential of no-tillage (NT) soils for increasing the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool must be critically and objectively assessed. Most of the previous studies about SOC accrual in NT soils have primarily focused on the surface layer (<20-cm soil depth), and not for the whole soil profile. The lack of adequate data on the SOC profile is a hindrance to conclusively ascertain the effects of NT farming on SOC sequestration and off-setting CO2 emissions.
More CO2 News Articles
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |