Novel design of Carbon dioxide sorbents by TIFR
Q. Which of the following is/are true regarding novel design of CO2 sorbents developed by TIFR?
1) They have low amine loading.
2) Liquid sorbents exhibit better efficiency with greater potential to overcome the shortcomings of solid sorbents.- Published on 22 Dec 16a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER: Only 2
Scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, DAE have developed a novel design of CO2 sorbents that show superior CO2 capture capacity and stability over conventional materials.
The immobilization of functional amines on a porous solid support can result in stable and efficient CO2 sorbent materials compared to similar liquid sorbents. A critical disadvantage however, is a drastic decrease in the textural properties of these supports (i.e., their surface area and pore volume), leading to a decrease in the CO2 capture capability.
To overcome this challenge, scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, have designed novel functionalised nanomaterials that allow higher amine loading with a minimal decrease in surface area.
The fibrous nanosilica (KCC-1) based sorbents showed several advantages over conventional silica-based sorbents, including i) high amine loading, ii) minimum reduction in surface area after functionalization and iii) more accessibility of the amine sites to enhance CO2 capture efficiency (i.e., capture capacity, kinetics and recyclability), due to the fibrous structure and high accessible surface area of KCC-1.
Solid sorbents exhibit better efficiency with greater potential to overcome the shortcomings of liquid sorbents.
