Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been around for many a decade, but it still continues to be an inefficient and polluting practice. Seeking to overcome this hurdle, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher, Amitesh Maiti, developed a screening method of using an ionic liquid to separate CO2 from its source. Using ionic liquid is definitely advantageous considering its high chemical stability, low corrosion, zero vapor pressure and a variety of ion choices. Moreover, scientists can be sure about the exact solubility of CO2 if they go by the accurate analysis.
It’s a great advantage to have a method that can quickly and accurately compute CO2 solubility in any solvent, especially under the range of pressures and temperatures as would be found in a coal-fired power plant. With ionic liquids serving as the solvent, the process could be a lot cleaner and more accessible than what is used today.
Amitesh hopes that extraction of CO2 from flue gas or some other source can be much cleaner than what it is now. It can be purged at the capture stage itself. Utilizing his computational method, researchers can effectively measure CO2 solubility of any liquid. Moreover, Amitesh has successfully categorized new solvent classes with double CO2 solubility. Putting in more research might help scientists to compute CO2 solubility with more exactness.
Via: News Release