Polyvinylamine-Based Facilitated Transport Membranes for Post-Combustion CO_(2) Capture:Challenges and Perspectives from Materials to Processes

Carbon dioxide(CO_(2))capture by gas-separation membranes has become increasingly attractive due to its high energy efficiency,relatively low cost,and environmental impact.Polyvinylamine(PVAm)-based facilitated transport(FT)membranes were developed in the last decade for CO_(2) capture.This work discusses the challenges of applying PVAm-based FT membranes from materials to processes for postcombustion CO_(2) capture in power plants and cement factories.Experiences learned from a pilot demonstration system can be used to guide the design of other membranes for CO_(2) capture.The importance of module and process design is emphasized in the achievement of a high-performance membrane system.Moreover,the results from process simulation and cost estimation indicate that a three-stage membrane system is feasible for achieving a high CO_(2) purity of 95 vol%.The specific CO_(2) capture cost was found to significantly depend on the required CO_(2) capture ratio,and a moderate CO_(2) capture ratio of 50%presented a cost of 63.7USD per tonne CO_(2) captured.Thus,FT membrane systems were found to be more competitive for partial CO_(2) capture.

A novel hybrid digestion-gasification process integrated with membranes for efficient conversion of biomass to bio-alcohols

There is an urgent need to develop technologies which enable the conversion of biomass into liquid biofuels to fill the gap between limited fossil fuel supplies and increasing worldwide demand.In order to achieve the EU 2030 vision of at least 15%of the fuels used in the road transportation sector will be biofuels derived from non-food biomass feedstocks,the R&D of clean,inexpensive,highly end-user compatible biofuels from a virtually inexhaustible source of biomass should be pursued to make breakthroughs in cost-effective biomass to liquid biofuels(BTL)technologies.Thus,an innovative,consolidated,and sustainable technology using a hybrid digestion-gasification process integrated with membranes to produce next generation bio-alcohols from different biomass feedstocks was designed.The proposed concept was theoretically estimated to achieve an overall BTL efficiency of 44%and a cost reduction for bioalcohol production of 18.6%.Moreover,this technology can potentially achieve an overall CO2 emission reduction of>75%for road transport based on the preliminary analysis.