LOS ALAMOS, NM, May 29, 2002 - A new and economical technology for the separation and capture of carbon dioxide from industrial processes could lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions to the atmosphere. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing a new high-temperature polymer membrane to separate and capture carbon dioxide, preventing its escape into the atmosphere. This work is part of the DOE Carbon Sequestration Program's mission to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the environment from industrial processes.

Growing concern about the potential worldwide environmental impacts, such as global warming and acidification of the oceans, from the vast amounts of carbon dioxide released from the combustion of fossil fuels prompts scientists to research and develop methods for carbon sequestration. National studies estimate approximately 30 percent of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions are a result of power-producing industries.

At the American Geophysical Union conference today in Washington D.C., Jennifer Young, principal investigator for Los Alamos' carbon dioxide membrane separation project, presents data on a new polymeric-metallic membrane that is operationally stable at temperatures as high as 370 degrees Celsius. To date, polymer membranes commercially available for gas separation are limited to maximum operating temperatures of 150 degrees Celsius.

Industrial processes that produce carbon dioxide operate at temperatures as high as 375 degrees Celsius, and to sequester, or capture, the carbon dioxide, it first must be separated from other gases.

"Current technologies for separating carbon dioxide from other gases require that the gas stream be cooled to below 150 degrees Celsius, which reduces energy efficiency and increases the cost of separation and capture," said Young. "By making a membrane which functions at elevated temperatures, we increase
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Contact: Shelley Thompson
shelley@lanl.gov
505-665-7778
DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory
30-May-2002

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