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Smart Ceramic Hollow Fibers for Energy Efficient Gas and Vapour Sorption

Project description

A hot idea for thermal regulation enhances the energy efficiency of gas separation

Separation and purification are ubiquitous processes used in industry, environmental science, synthetic chemistry and more. Many separation processes rely on adsorption, or passing a mixture over a 'bed' containing an adsorbent to which a certain component of the mixture will 'stick'. Current adsorption processes for gas and vapour separation consume significant amounts of energy due to waste heat generation and the long times required to regenerate the adsorbent. The EU-funded SmartSorp project has an innovative way to solve both these issues using smart ceramic hollow fibres that regulate heat and redirect it onto the adsorbent later for fast regeneration.

Objective

The aim of this project is to develop a novel ceramic hollow fiber adsorption system for high throughput, energy efficient separation and purification of gases/ vapours. Current adsorption technologies are grossly energy inefficient due to waste heat generation and long regeneration times. Therefore, it is important to develop new energy efficient, smart functional materials in order to meet society’s future energy demands. Functional hollow fibers with smart characteristics (such as self-regulated heating and regeneration of the adsorbent bed) have the potential to meet these challenges, and compact systems could be formed that also exhibit low pressure drop, no adsorbent bed settling and channelling, and have a low thermal mass for rapid regeneration of the adsorbent layer. The novel hollow fiber will consist of a thin film zeolite inner layer for adsorption of target species, while the outer layer is formed from a perovskite-type Lanthanum doped BaTiO3 ceramic with positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) characteristics. The PTCR layer provides inherent temperature control, imparting self-regulating and self-limited Ohmic (Joule) heating with thermal energy directed onto the inner adsorbent layer in order to regenerate the system for the next process cycle. This is a highly multidisciplinary project encompassing the formation of electro-ceramic hollow fibers from wet spinning techniques, zeolite deposition chemistry, and industrial engineering. The MSC-IF researcher will work within the Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Research (EMPA) in the High Performance Ceramics Group, where he will develop expertise in ceramic processing and extrusion. A prototype ceramic hollow fiber, gas purification system will be developed and benchmarked against conventional packed-bed technology, during a secondment phase to NanoPurification Solutions Ltd (UK), a manufacturer of industrial gas separation technology.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018

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Coordinator

EIDGENOSSISCHE MATERIALPRUFUNGS- UND FORSCHUNGSANSTALT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 191 149,44
Address
UEBERLANDSTRASSE 129
8600 Dubendorf
Switzerland

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Region
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 191 149,44
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