Low carbon energy: innovative technologies for CCUS

Increasing demand for clean energy has led to significant research towards the development of energy-efficient and environment-friendly technological solutions of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) which encompasses methods to remove CO2 from the flue gas and from the atmosphere, recycling the CO2 for utilization and safe storage options.

Absorption-based separation can be used for pre-combustion carbon dioxide removal from natural gas. However this technology is not ready for direct implantation for the carbon capture from flue gas from large point sources such as power houses, cement plants and iron furnaces. This is because of relatively high cost of carbon dioxide removal from flue gas that reduces the thermal efficiency of power plants and increases cost of energy, cement and steel manufacturing. The major challenge is therefore to develop greener processes with better solvents or membranes with superior separation efficiency towards carbon dioxide at minimal parasitic energy demand. These media must be readily re-usable and should be economically attractive, at least in the longer run.

In our earlier work, we developed a rapid experimental method of measuring gas-liquid equilibria required for the process design. We also reported a class of ionic liquids and mixed ionic solvents showing very high affinities for the separation of gases including carbon dioxide.

Separation and conversion of carbon dioxide to produce marketable products will be studied in this project. Major emphasis will be given to the emerging technologies of carbon capture that include membranes and ionic solvents but simple solutions such as alkali based processes will also be studied. Development of marketable products such as carbonates for paper industry and for construction industry may also be studied depending upon the interest of the student.

The successful candidate should have, or expect to have, an Honours Degree at 2.1 or above (or equivalent) in chemical/ energy/ material/ oil & gas engineering or equivalent..

Essential background: chemical/ energy/ material/ oil & gas engineering.

The student must have an appetite for experimental and theoretical research with a boarder inter-disciplinary agenda covering chemical engineering, energy technologies, material engineering, and industrial chemistry.

The student must have a deeper interest in chemical processes and products, chemical thermodynamics, reactions engineering, biotechnology and environmental science.