Octagonal fennel zeolite specifically "catches" carbon dioxide

According to reports recently organized by the American Physicists Organization Network, the use of factory chimneys to filter greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide is necessary, but the cost of many related processes is astounding. And a research team in the United States put forward a cheap and affordable solution. They found that a natural zeolite with an octagonal fenestration is particularly good at capturing the whereabouts of carbon dioxide, far more efficient and economical than current industrial scrubbers.

Zeolite is an ore that was first discovered in basalt by the Swedish mineralogist Kronst in 1756. It was named for its boiling phenomenon when heated to melting. There are many channels and cavities of uniform size in the crystal lattice. The inner surface area of ​​one gram of zeolite cavities and channels can reach 500 to 1,000 square meters, which can absorb or filter molecules of different sizes, and can reuse hundreds of molecules. Secondly, it is an ideal choice for filtering and scrubbing harmful molecules in a mixed gas containing many impurity gases. It is also widely used in catalysts and filters in the chemical industry.

A joint team of the US National Institute of Standards and the University of Delaware spent 10 years studying zeolites. In an industrial laboratory, they found that the internal pores of the zeolite SSZ-13 had an octagonal window. This feature seems to be Efficiently filter out carbon dioxide molecules in the gas mixture. The researcher's leader Craig Browne said: "This performance makes this zeolite an ideal material for the factory chimney to wash greenhouse gases."

The team used neutron diffraction to determine that the octagonal louvers of zeolite SSZ-13 are particularly good at attracting small, long carbon dioxide molecules. It can "grab" those major carbon atoms that are positively charged, while allowing other molecules that hold different shapes and electronic properties to pass without being affected. This zeolite can adsorb 0.31 grams of carbon dioxide per cubic centimeter of pores. It is quite competitive with other adsorbent materials in the industry.

Brown said that given the ability of this zeolite to attract only carbon dioxide, it is likely to become an economical alternative to industrial cleansing of carbon in the future, and it can also reduce energy consumption when used, which is equivalent to saving 25% of electricity. .

The next step of the team will focus on the possibility of using zeolite SSZ-13 to separate carbon dioxide from natural gas with methane as its main component, in the hope that it can perform well in extracting and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide gas.