Lego-like assembly of zeolitic membranes improves carbon capture

Date:
October 5, 2020
Source:
Ecole Polytechnique Fe'de'rale de Lausanne
Summary:
Chemical engineers have developed a new way to manufacture zeolitic
membranes, state-of-the-art materials used for gas separation in
harsh conditions.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Zeolites are porous minerals that occur both naturally but also are being synthesized artificially. Because they are stable and durable, zeolites
are used for chemical catalysis, purification of gases and liquids, and
even in medical applications such as drug delivery and blood-clotting
powders, e.g. the QuickClot trauma bandages used in the US military.


========================================================================== Zeolites used in gas separation are usually produced as membranes. The
state- of-the-art zeolitic membranes are manufactured by a lengthy
and complex crystallization process. Unfortunately, this method has
proved difficult to reproduce. Also, it lacks in producing efficient gas-separation membranes, especially when it comes to the separation
of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, which is necessary for pre-combustion
carbon capture from power plants.

A team of chemical engineers led by Kumar Agrawal at EPFL Valais Wallis
have now successfully simplified the chemistry behind zeolite membrane synthesis, making it simple, reproducible, and scalable. The achievement
of the longstanding goal is published in Nature Materials.

The scientists developed a new material chemistry that eliminates the
lengthy crystallization process altogether. "We build Lego-like crystals
-- nanosheets -- and bonded them on top of each other using silanol condensation chemistry," says Agrawal. The resulting membrane shows
ideal hydrogen-carbon dioxide separation performance, with selectivity
up to 100 at 250-300 degrees Celsius.

The authors conclude: "The scalable synthesis of high-temperature
hydrogen- sieving zeolitic membranes is expected to improve the energy-efficiency of pre- combustion carbon capture."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Ecole_Polytechnique_Fe'de'rale_de_Lausanne. Original written by Nik Papageorgiou. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dakhchoune, M., Villalobos, L.F., Semino, R. et al. Gas-sieving
zeolitic
membranes fabricated by condensation of precursor nanosheets. Nat.

Mater., 2020 DOI: 10.1038/s41563-020-00822-2 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201005112139.htm

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