Development of cellulose nanocrystals composite biocatalytic membrane contactor for CO2 capture

Details

Supervisors

Luis Alconero, Patricia ; Hartanto, Yusak

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil en chimie et science des matériaux, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Undeniably, human activites have increased the emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. To limit global warming, a response is imperative to tackle this worldwide crisis and mitigate its far-reaching consequences. Gas-liquid membrane contactor with benign solvent is a promising carbon capture technology to reduce CO2 emissions. The integration of enzyme can enhance the efficiency of this technology, providing an alternative to conventional carbon capture methods. In this master’s thesis, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were studied as a substrate for attaching carbonic anhydrase through glutaraldehyde crosslinking. The results demonstrate that CNC is a promising material for this purpose, as the incorporation of the enzyme significantly improves the capture of CO2. Two parameters, namely the glutaraldehyde concentration and the enzyme loading were considered to optimise the enzymatic activity of the membrane. The best membranes were then tested on the membrane contactor set-up and a storage test was carried out to determine the stability of the membranes. The membranes with a glutaraldehyde concentration of 0.5 wt.\% and an enzyme loading of 200 [µg/mL] demonstrated its stability and yielded the best overall mass transfer coefficient among stable membranes with a value of 7.93*10^{-5} [m^3/(m^2 s)]. This coefficient was 3.1 times higher than the one of pristine PVDF membranes. Membranes with an enzyme loading of 500 [µg/mL] and a glutaraldehyde concentration of 0.5 wt.% reached a higher value for the overall mass transfer coefficient with 11.80*10^{-5} [m^3/(m^2 s)] but this coefficient decreased significantly over time.