Ubiquitous CO2 capture directly from air by nanometer-thick membranes
KTH Climate Action Center welcomes you to a guest lecture by Professor Shigenori Fujikawa of Kyushu University. After the lecture, a panel will reflect on role of CO2 capture in achieving global net zero (or negative) targets, on the possible timeline for these technologies to be adopted at scale, and on the role of research and public and private investments to enable these new applications.
Professor Shigenori Fujikawa, and his multidisciplinary team of researchers at Kyushu University’s International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER), are working to go beyond being ‘carbon neutral’ to the goal of capturing carbon from the air. The event is to celebrate the Sweden-Japan Foundation 50 years, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Stockholm Office 20 years, and the establishment of the Kyushu University Stockholm Office.
Time: Fri 2021-10-29 09.00 - 10.30
Location: F1
Language: English
Participating: Guest Lecture by Professor Fujikawa
The KTH Climate Action Centre organises this guest lecture. The host is Director Assoc. Prof. Francesco Fuso-Nerini, in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan to Sweden, IVA, Sweden-Japan Foundation, Kyushu University Stockholm Liaison Office and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Stockholm Office.
Programme
9.00: Opening: Francesco Fuso-Nerini, Director of KTH Climate Action Centre and Prof. Johan Lauwereyns, Vice President of Kyushu University.
9.05: Lecture by Professor Shigenori Fujikawa of Kyushu University: Ubiquitous CO2 capture directly from air by nanometer-thick membranes.
9.50: Panel discussion led by Francesco Fuso-Nerini. Panelists: Christophe Duwig Associate Professor at KTH, and Kenneth Möllersten IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
Abstract
In order to solve the problem of climate change caused by anthropogenic global warming, carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been emitted into the atmosphere must be captured directly from the atmosphere. This Direct Air Capture (DAC), which directly captures CO2 from the atmosphere, is one of the negative emission technologies that are expected to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Since the atmosphere exists everywhere on the planet, CO2 capture from the atmosphere must be achieved anywhere, independent of location. Membrane separation processes have the advantage over chemical solutions in that they are small, simple, and can be installed anywhere. For this purpose, the Research Center for Negative Emissions Technologies are developing thinner separation membranes made of highly CO2-permeable polymeric materials and attempting to realize CO2 capture from the atmosphere by separation membranes. Recently, they have succeeded in developing a defect-free, free-standing CO2 separation nanomembrane that has the highest CO2 permeability reported so far, with no gas leakage through pinholes, even though it is only about 30 nm thick (about 1/1500 of a hair). The nanomembrane has succeeded in selectively recovering CO2 from a gas mixture of only 1,000 ppm, which is comparable to the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. The advantage of the extremely efficient separation of CO2 demonstrated in this study shows the feasibility of direct air capture by membranes, which had not been considered before.
For more information, please contact Karin Larsdotter , KTH Climate Action Centre.
