The Dangers Present

S.P.: I hear also that other universities have a Moonshot endeavor taking a separate CCUS approach, but your team I understand is aiming to yield innovative results for adoption by industry.

Y.F.: Our focus is on development of technologies to recover CO₂, with that then being converted into valuable materials, such as polyurethane, polycarbonate, urea, some other derivatives useful as pharmaceuticals, not to mention in lithium-ion battery materials, among others. Synthesis of these materials require chemicals like phosgene and toxic reagents of the ilk, treated in high temperature and pressure, in the present method. CO₂ can replace these reagents and potentially work at a milder condition. Indeed, this motivates chemical industries, aside the carbon emission reduction pressures nowadays.

S.P.: In realizing your focal points what are your plans?

Y.F.: We have two prongs. First, we are using an energy-saving conversion route. Chemical substances that I mentioned before contain a structure called carbonyl. The advantage of employing a route that allows CO₂ to be used as a carbonyl source is that, by use of an appropriate catalyst, CO₂ can be incorporated into the chemical structure without the need for a carbon reduction process. This amounts to a high energy saving.
Second, to obtain CO₂ - which exists in the atmosphere at a concentration of only about 0.04% - a huge amount of air needs to be blown into the converter. A high recovery rate of CO₂ from the introduced air at very high flowrates is the key to saving energy, which will be carbon-free while being extremely limited in the future.
We are approaching this challenge by upgrading membrane separation technology that was originally developed for space applications. In addition, we seek to eliminate energy requirement for CO₂ recovery from absorbents by using the new quad-C process configuration realized by Dual Function Materials (DFMs).
To compass the development of multiple items including the reactors, membrane, sorbents, separation methods, etc., the target performance for the respective items should be flexibly rearranged so that we can accelerate the pace of approaching commercialization. My profession is actually in the system performance managing method applying a birds-eye-view, combined with chemical process modeling and simulation techniques. Atmosphere is not the most ideal gas to recover CO₂, concentrationwise. But in the carbon neutral future, flue gas with high CO₂ concentration will no longer be available. So, CO₂ in the air will be one of the future sources of carbon for our industries. It requires a lot of good imagination to accept this concept, as it is so much a different one that do not lie on the extension of the previously taken course of innovation in the chemicals industry.

S.P.: I see... As your formulaic expressions "on the air" shown on this issues indicate?

Y.F.: Our first target is to produce a urea derivative by bringing the ethylene diamine that chemically absorbed CO₂ into contact with the catalyst (CeO₂). The knowledge on sorption and the reaction of various DFMs and CO₂ obtained in this work, together with the new simulation and evaluation techniques we develop, will expand the range of carbonyl compounds that can be produced from CO₂ with biomass and recycled End-of-Life products.