Booth Id:
CHEM067
Category:
Chemistry
Year:
2022
Finalist Names:
Lahiri, Nishant (School: Corning-Painted Post High School)
Abstract:
Traditional Carbon Capture and Storage uses a combination of technologies to capture, transport, and store carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources such as coal or natural gas-fired power plants. The Integrative Carbon Reduction Technology (iCART) system envisions indoor, residential approaches similar to recycling to engage the community in mitigating anthropogenic emissions. For its direct-air capture (DAC) unit, substrates with adsorbed polyethyleneimine (PEI) were evaluated in terms of capture and cyclic capacity, ambient capture efficiency, material degradation, and applicability in integrated indoor CO2 capture units. The textile substrates nylon, ceramic wool, dust sheets, HVAC air filters, and cotton were compared to polyester polyethylene silica aerogel composite fabric (CSAF) as a gold standard. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method was used for surface area measurements, while mass measurements and nondispersive infrared (NDIR) CO2 sensors were used to assess capture capabilities in pure and ambient CO2 environments. Cotton had a low surface area (SA) of 1.28 m2/g, whereas the SA of CSAF was 236.00m2/g. The CSAF material adsorbed 166 g-PEI/m2 while cotton adsorbed only 3.64 g-PEI/m2. However, cotton allowed for much more effective use of PEI: 3.022g CO2/g-PEI, compared to 0.205g-CO2/g-PEI for CSAF. This conservation of the active capture agent in conjunction with inexpensive and robust textile substrates would improve capture/cost ratios. All tested substrates showed 100% recyclability. Recycled weekly, an iCART household unit would have the capture potential of 2.145 MT/year, equivalent to planting ~100 trees.
Awards Won:
First Award of $5,000