Nanoporous carbon capture materials from sustainable sources

Abstract

Rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources can be seen as one of the greatest problems faced by mankind in modern history. CO2 capture and subsequent storage or utilisation is one possible solution to increasing CO2 levels in the short-term, until humanity is less reliant on fossil fuels. This thesis will investigate currently available state of the art CO2 capture technologies and provide a critical evaluation on their suitability. Furthermore, current research into the storage and utilisation of captured CO2 will also be studied and the long-term suitability of these approaches to increasing CO2 levels determined. New solid-state CO2 adsorption materials have been developed using waste polymeric materials as the primary agent for selective adsorption of CO2. The approach of using waste materials for CO2 adsorption is advantageous in that the waste material is being used to deal with another waste material, namely CO2. The waste materials utilised in this research were chitosan, a waste material derived from chitin, a large waste from the seafood industry, and polyvinylchloride (PVC), a polymer mainly used in the fabrication of household products. It is demonstrated in this thesis that with minimal modification, these waste materials can be utilised for the capture of CO2 at levels comparable to that of the currently available state-of-the-art materials.