MechE Colloquium: CO2 capture and conversion
Event details
| Date | 07.05.2019 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Christoph Müller, ETH Zurich |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract:
There is significant scientific evidence that climate change is linked to the increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. A possible mid-term solution to mitigate climate change is to capture CO2 and store it underground in geological formations (CCS). Depending on the operating temperature of the CO2 capture process, different classes of sorbents have been proposed. This talk is concerned with the use of alkali earth metal oxides, in particular CaO, as CO2 sorbents. In the beginning of the talk we will discuss challenges associated with the use of CaO-based CO2 sorbents, such as the sintering-induced decay of their cyclic CO2 uptake capacity or kinetic limitations due to product layer formation. This will be followed by a summary of recent advances made by our research group in fabricating more effective CO2 sorbents and elucidating the key deactivation mechanisms. In the last part of our talk we will present examples of how CO2 capture can be integrated into catalytic reactions to yield high purity hydrogen or a synthesis gas in a single step.
Bio:
After graduation with a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in 2008, having performed fundamental studies on fluidized bed reactors, Christoph Müller took up a junior research fellowship at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, investigating calcium and chemical looping-based CO2 capture processes. In 2010, he established his own research group at ETH Zürich. In 2015 he was promoted to tenured associate professor at the same institution. Christoph Müller heads the Laboratory of Energy Science and Engineering. The three main research areas of the laboratory are: (i) CO2 capture, (ii) heterogeneous catalysis and (iii) multi-phase granular systems.
There is significant scientific evidence that climate change is linked to the increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. A possible mid-term solution to mitigate climate change is to capture CO2 and store it underground in geological formations (CCS). Depending on the operating temperature of the CO2 capture process, different classes of sorbents have been proposed. This talk is concerned with the use of alkali earth metal oxides, in particular CaO, as CO2 sorbents. In the beginning of the talk we will discuss challenges associated with the use of CaO-based CO2 sorbents, such as the sintering-induced decay of their cyclic CO2 uptake capacity or kinetic limitations due to product layer formation. This will be followed by a summary of recent advances made by our research group in fabricating more effective CO2 sorbents and elucidating the key deactivation mechanisms. In the last part of our talk we will present examples of how CO2 capture can be integrated into catalytic reactions to yield high purity hydrogen or a synthesis gas in a single step.
Bio:
After graduation with a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in 2008, having performed fundamental studies on fluidized bed reactors, Christoph Müller took up a junior research fellowship at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, investigating calcium and chemical looping-based CO2 capture processes. In 2010, he established his own research group at ETH Zürich. In 2015 he was promoted to tenured associate professor at the same institution. Christoph Müller heads the Laboratory of Energy Science and Engineering. The three main research areas of the laboratory are: (i) CO2 capture, (ii) heterogeneous catalysis and (iii) multi-phase granular systems.
Practical information
- General public
- Free