A research team from National Taiwan University has successfully developed pioneering technologies in membrane-based carbon capture and electrochemical carbon conversion, according to the National Science and Technology Council Dec. 11.
Supported by the NSTC’s net-zero emission program, the NTU ZERO team comprises chemical engineering and chemistry experts from the Taipei City-based university. In particular, the team has established a pilot production machine capable of converting carbon dioxide into upstream chemical products, with a processing capacity of 50 kilograms of CO2 per day.
According to the NSTC, fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas currently produce most of Taiwan’s energy supply, while thermal power generation accounts for 14 percent of the country’s carbon emissions, with industrial emissions making up 55 percent of the total. Both the sources can utilize the new carbon capture technology for reuse or storage, the council added.
Based on the NTU team’s calculations, the efficiency of the most widely adopted carbon capture technology is only about 60 percent given its method and choice of absorbents. In comparison, the NTU team developed an innovative ultramicroporous metal-organic framework that can absorb CO2 with an estimated efficiency of nearly 90 percent.
Equally impressive, the NSTC said the team has developed a high efficiency electrochemical process that can convert CO2 into syngas, formic acid, ethanol or ethylene, which are all higher-value chemical compounds with negative carbon footprints. Its low power consumption and high selectivity also reduce the energy and cost of subsequent product purification, the council added.
The NSTC expects the positive development will inspire more domestic industries to invest in related initiatives and help contribute to the government’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2025. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
from Taiwan Today – Top News