SUMMARY
A DMSO-based system uses an amine and salt to capture CO2 from industrial off-gas and electrochemically converts it into efficient syngas, offering improved performance over water-based methods.
The Unmet Need: Effective carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and conversion from industrial emissions
With intensifying climate change concerns and the increasing implementation of stringent environmental regulations, there is an urgent need for efficient, scalable technologies capable of capturing CO2 directly from industrial emissions.
Traditional water-based approaches typically suffer from poor reaction control and lower catalyst efficiency, necessitating excessive energy inputs and leading to suboptimal product selectivity and yield. Many existing techniques suffer from low conversion efficiencies, inefficient utilization of reactants, and the formation of unwanted byproducts such as bicarbonates, which hinder the overall process yield. Additionally, these conventional systems often require higher ratios of reactive components that elevate operational costs and complicate the reaction dynamics.
These issues, compounded by insufficient CO2 uptake and the inherent instability of reaction intermediates, underscore the pressing need for improved methodologies that can simultaneously enhance capture capacity and streamline conversion to valuable products under milder, more sustainable conditions.
The Proposed Solution: An integrated system that captures CO₂ from industrial off-gases and electrochemically converts it into syngas using a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) medium.
This integrated system captures CO2 from industrial off-gas by dissolving it in a DMSO solution containing monoethanolamine and a salt. The CO2 reacts with the amine to form carbamic acid, which serves as the electrolyte for an electrochemical conversion process that produces syngas (CO and H₂) using catalysts.
The approach leverages a 1:1 amine-to-CO₂ ratio for efficient loading compared to the 2:1 ratio in water. It also minimizes unwanted byproducts common in water-based systems and achieves high faradaic efficiencies—up to 88% for CO and around 80% for H₂. This technology is differentiated by its superior CO₂ capture and conversion performance compared to traditional aqueous methods.
The use of DMSO not only triples the CO₂ loading capacity but also improves reaction control, as confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance studies and density functional theory calculations that underline the role of carbamic acid and cesium ions in enhancing the process. The system also offers significant economic advantages with reduced energy requirements and lower CO production costs, making it a promising solution for industrial-scale, sustainable energy and chemical applications.
ADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES
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Enhanced CO2 capture efficiency: DMSO use enables a 1:1 amine-to-CO2 reaction, significantly improving CO2 uptake compared to water-based methods
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High faradaic efficiency: Faradaic efficiencies of up to ~88% for CO using silver catalysts and ~80% with zinc catalysts in DMSO
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Suppression of undesirable byproducts: Minimized byproduct formation leads to improved reaction selectivity and product purity
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Catalyst versatility and performance: Effective use of both noble (silver) and earth-abundant (zinc) catalysts, with zinc achieving over 40% CO FE under simulated flue gas conditions—an improvement over traditional aqueous CO2 reduction where zinc performs poorly (<5% CO FE)
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Economic and process efficiency: Techno-economic analysis indicates approximately 90% lower CO production costs with silver in DMSO compared to aqueous processes, with further cost reduction when using zinc, making it a more viable and scalable industrial solution
APPLICATIONS
- Industrial CO2 capture conversion
- Syngas production for chemicals
- Renewable energy generation platform
- Industrial emissions reduction technology
- Sustainable transportation fuel synthesis
March 14, 2025
Proof of concept
Patent Pending
Licensing,Co-development
Chibueze Amanchukwu