Recent results in the development of homogenous catalysts for enhanced kinetics in post-combustion CO2 capture will be discussed. Concern over rising global CO2 emissions has led to new regulations that will require carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems on new coal-fired power plants. However, a significant decrease in the cost of this technology will be required to make CCS from coal combustion viable in the current market. In order to meet the DOE goal of $40/ton for CO2 capture, reduction in both capital and operating costs will need to be achieved. Recent work in our group has involved the development of homogenous catalysts for improved kinetics of CO2 absorption, which would allow a reduction in the size of the absorber tower and significant capital cost savings. Two novel Zinc(II) complexes that incorporate ionic liquid moieties on the ligand backbone were found to be active homogeneous catalysts for CO2 capture in the primary amine solvent MEA. The catalysts were thermally stable up to 145 °C and unaffected by flue gas contaminants found in industrially-relevant post-combustion carbon capture conditions. However, two analogous Zn(II) complexes that lack the the ionic liquid moiety do not show any catalytic activity towards the CO2 hydration process in amine solutions. The implication of these results on designing next-generation catalysts will also be described.

Enhancement of CO2 absorption utilizing zinc-based homogenous catalysts in primary amine solution

249th National Meeting (2015)

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