ChBE Researchers Win DOE Awards for Projects to Reduce CO2 Emissions

Researchers in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) have won two grants from the Department of Energy (DOE) for projects designed to enhance the operational efficiency of systems that reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

One project, led by Assistant Professor Ryan Lively, is titled “Enabling 10mol/kg Swing Capacity via Heat Integrated Sub-ambient Pressure Swing Adsorption.” It will last for three years (total funding: $2,491,483) and will also involve ChBE faculty members Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Matthew Realff, David Sholl, and Krista Walton.

The project aims to drastically improve the efficiency of a process called pressure swing adsorption, through which carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are separated from power plant flue gases. To better capture CO2, the researchers will cool and pressurize the flue gases.

Historically, it’s been believed that it would be too costly to treat the flue gases in this fashion, Lively explains, because power plants release so much CO2 into the atmosphere – 9 to 10 tons per minute.

“However, our team has devised ways to efficiently recover the energy required to cool and compress the flue gases,” he says.