Welcome to the ACPA Seminar Series, a monthly webinar series including various topics of interest related to advancing the Chemical Profession in Alberta. For the next seminar in this series, we are happy to introduce Nick Fylstra, Graduate Student Researcher at University of Calgary to speak on 'Practical Guide to the Next Generation of CO2 Capture Sorbents' on April 4, 2023. Each seminar will be eligible for 1 PDC credit.
Agenda
6:45 - 6:59 PM MT - Networking
7:00 - 8:00 PM MT - Presentation and Q&A
Seminar Overview
Carbon capture is a crucial technology in the fight against climate change, and its widespread application is essential to achieving a carbon-neutral future in a timely manner. While traditional liquid amine-based carbon capture technologies have strong and selective bonds with CO2, their high energy cost for regeneration has limited their industrial application. Adsorption-based technologies, which use a weak gas-solid interaction, offer a cost-effective solution for large-scale carbon capture.
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising class of porous coordination polymers that can be used for CO2 capture, however, their scalability and interactions with water in its various forms have limited their commercial application for decades. The Calgary Framework-20 MOF, developed by the Shimizu group at the University of Calgary and published in Science Magazine at the end of 2021,(1) offers a solution to these problems. It is hydrophobic and stable to 150 °C steam, making it ideal for humid CO2 capture processes that utilize low-quality waste heat for regeneration. Its scalable synthesis means it can be manufactured at the tonne scale and deployed quickly. The MOF is being deployed at the pilot scale (25 Tonnes CO2 captured/day) at a Chevron plant in central California.(2)
The MOF's hydrophobicity and scalability offer new possibilities for CO2 capture, enabling wet CO2 capture processes with mild regeneration conditions. The MOF's anti-selectivity for H2O presents opportunities for CO2/H2O selective adsorption, despite a 180 °C difference in boiling points between the adsorbates and runs counterculture to the traditional academic focus on CO2/N2 selectivity or CO2 capacity in a dry environment. This breakthrough in materials science presents exciting new opportunities to leverage the expertise of the oil and gas industry in Alberta to participate in the global clean energy transition. This talk will take a deep dive into the MOF structure itself while highlighting that it’s not just the material, but how you use it that matters.
References:
1. Lin, J.B., et al. Science, 2021, 374, 6574, 1464-1469. <;
2. https://www.chevron.com/newsroom/2022/q4/chevron-invests-in-carbon-capture-and-removal-technology-company-svante
Speaker Bio
Nick Fylstra, Graduate Student Researcher, University of Calgary
Nick Fylstra is a Biochemistry graduate from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, California, with a minor in wine and viticulture. With extensive technical experience studying radioactive elements and their decay products in minerals at the Berkeley Geochronology Centre from 2012-2017, he developed a new method for Uranium-series dating of ostrich eggshells using laser ablation-MC-ICP MS that opens a new pathway for dating carbonates often found at archaeological sites beyond the limit of traditional carbon dating.
Thinking on geologic timescales bled into his personal life, and he was inspired to pursue a career in climate-positive solutions. He joined the Shimizu group at the University of Calgary in 2017. His Ph.D. research primarily focuses on using and shaping the Calgary Framework-20 MOF, a scalable hydrophobic adsorbent first published in Science Magazine at the end of 2021 that enables new commercial-scale humid CO2 capture processes. In his free time, he loves exploring the Canadian Rockies.
Registration
Admission: FREE
Registration Deadline: April 3, 2023
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
If you are not an ACPA member, you can create an account to access the Member Registration link above.
If you have questions, contact the ACPA office at [email protected].