Queen’s University Belfast researchers have created an incredible porous liquid that they say has the potential to enable a wide range of technologies including “carbon capture”. The capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuels. In the scientific journal Nature, scientists from Queen’s School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, along with others from France, Argentina, Germany and the UK have created a liquid capable of dissolving gas in large quantities. They claim that the gas absorbs into the liquid’s ‘holes’. The news porous liquid can disperse large amounts of gas. Image by Queen’s University Belfast. Image: Queen’s University Belfast. Preventing carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. The authors describe how the three-year project could lead to many more environmentally friendly and efficient chemical processes. This includes the capture of CO2 coming from large sources. The liquid could absorb carbon dioxide from fossil fuel power plants, preventing it entering the atmosphere. This would help to prevent global warming. Prof. Stuart James of Queen’s School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Mechanochemical Synthesis explained that materials with permanent holes or pores are important for technological purposes. These porous materials are useful for making a variety of products, including plastic bottles and petrol. These porous materials were previously solids. We have created a liquid that is special from the bottom up. The molecules of the liquid were designed so the liquid would not take up too much space. Could this be the answer to global warming? We found unusually high amounts of gas dissolution rates due to the large number of empty spaces in the liquid. This is the first step in understanding this material. The results of these experiments point to long-term interesting applications that rely on gas dissolution. Scientists stated further research is necessary to discover applications for porous liquids. These new chemical processes should be improved. Professor James said that liquids with holes absorb gas. He also stated, “At minimum, we have demonstrated a new principle: by making holes in liquids, we can drastically increase their ability to dissolve gas.” This remarkable property suggests interesting long-term applications.” Queen’s University Belfast led the research. It also included scientists from France’s Universite Blaise Paquet, Germany’s Universitat, Germany’s University of Liverpool and Argentina’s Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. This study was funded by the Engineering Physical Science Research Council, the UK’s principal agency to fund research in engineering and physical sciences. Citation: Liquids that have permanent porosity, Nicola Giri and Mario G. Del Popolo. Margarida Costa Gomes, Gavin Melaugh. Laure Pison. Rebecca L. Greenaway. Klaus Ratzke. Tonjes Kschine. Andrew I. Cooper & Stuart L. James. Nature 527, 12 November, 2015. DOI: 10.1038/nature16072. Video: Porous liquid. This video is part of the research by Professor James and his colleagues.
Scientists from Belfast believe a remarkable porous liquid could be used for carbon capture
