Active Research Projects
Current: Moisture enhancement effect on adsorption and desorption
Enhanced CO2 adsorption and desorption from nano-dispersed alkaline sorbent using a low moisture content purge gas.
Current: Non-reactive CO2 direct air capture and recovery using supported alkaline oxide sorbents
Direct air capture (DAC) and storage of CO2 are critical to reducing atmospheric CO2 levels and avoiding further global warming and climate change.
Catalysis for A Sustainable Environment: Philosophy
We are committed to applied and fundamental engineering research to enhance the world’s environment. Our research activities address critical issues of importance to a sustainable future by removal green-house gases, especially CO2, by capture and conversion to useful and sustainable hydrocarbon products.
Fossil fuels will continue to be a primary source of energy whereby their combustion contributes to global warming via CO2 production. We have developed a family of dual function materials (DFM) containing an adsorbent and catalyst that capture CO2 from the air and with the addition of renewable H2 from water electrolysis via (solar, wind, etc.) catalytically converts it to sustainable hydrocarbons, such as methane(CH4). This decreases atmospheric CO2, while generating chemical precursors thereby, minimizing the use of current fracking processes. The DFM extracts the CO2 from air at ambient conditions of temperature and humidity and catalytic converts it to CH4 which is then injected into the existing infrastructure pipeline available as a chemical precursor. Process scale-up studies are in progress with our engineering partner.