Catalytic carbon dioxide absorption and stripping using nanofibrous membrane contactors

Catalyst-assisted CO2 capture processes are developed using membrane gas-solvent contactors. While chemical absorption-based capture methods are among the most practical for CO2 capture, they are generally regarded as energy-intensive, particularly for the regeneration of CO2-rich solvents. Herein, we propose catalytic membrane-based CO2 absorption and desorption processes which significantly lower the solvent regeneration temperature and offer additional CO2 sorption sites within mesoporous MCM-41 based catalysts. The incorporation of membrane gas-solvent contactors with hydrophobic polymer nanofibres enhances CO2 transfer by creating a larger mass transfer area. The resulting catalytic CO2 capture process, incorporating 1.0 wt% of SO42-/MCM-41 nanocatalysts in 5 M monoethanolamine (MEA) solution and Thermally Rearranged polymer (TR-PBOI) nano-fibre membranes, demonstrates 23.5mmol m-2 s-1 of CO2 absorption flux at 50 degrees C and 32.6mmol m-2 s-1 of CO2 desorption flux at 90 degrees C, presenting a catalytic enhancement of 150 %.