Researchers at the Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM) and the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, led by researcher Marcileia Zanatta, have developed a new class of absorbents for the efficient capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air, as well as from other dilute gas streams. A Spanish patent application has been filed for this invention, and partners are being sought for the commercial exploitation of the salts and capture methods, the industrial scale-up of the process, and its validation in real operating environments.
The system enables the stable and efficient capture of the gas and its subsequent release for reuse or storage. This solution addresses the critical limitations of traditional amine-based technologies, which often suffer from degradation, volatility and low absorption capacity under normal atmospheric conditions. "The new approach is efficient at low CO2 concentrations, including atmospheric air, which contains only 0.04% CO2. In addition to its high capture capacity, the system is selective for CO2, versatile and adaptable, making it suitable for integration into existing carbon capture plants," Zanatta said.
The technology can be implemented in a wide range of fields, including environmental engineering, where it can be used to capture CO2 directly from the air to help mitigate climate change; the energy sector, for gas stream purification and emissions treatment in industrial plants; biogas treatment, to remove impurities from gaseous fuels and improve their quality; and the chemical industry, in gas separation processes and the manufacture of value-added products from captured CO2.
