Project description
Ultraselective purification of trace and bulk impurities is on the horizon
The purification of gases is critical to many areas including environmental protection and energy production. Conventional purification technologies rely on the adsorption of impurities via chemical reactions between the gas of interest and the substrate (chemisorption), effectively locking them together via chemical bonds. More recently, the use of microporous materials for physisorption, whereby materials physically lock up molecules without a chemical change, has been gaining ground. The EU-funded SYNSORB project is targeting physisorption as a route to less energy-intensive purification. Its ground-breaking ultramicroporous materials could pave the way for ultraselective purification with at least an order of magnitude higher capacity than the most promising materials currently under development.
Objective
This is the “Age of Gas”; disruptive new technologies must develop around the use of gases as fuels, therapies or feedstock chemicals. Specifically, new approaches to gas storage (transportation and delivery) and purification (commodities) are urgently needed to address the large energy footprint, cost and/or risk associated with existing technologies (e.g. chemisorbents). In particular, water and chemical commodity purification are global challenges, each consuming > 10% of global energy output. SYNSORB will reduce the energy footprint of purification processes through crystal engineering (design), characterisation (structure/function) and modelling (binding interactions) studies that enable understanding of how pore size /chemistry impact the properties and performance of physisorbents. Our objective is to find the energetic sweet spots that enable new benchmarks for selectivity and working capacity for gas (e.g. CH4, C2, C3) and vapour (e.g. H2O) purification at practically relevant conditions.
Key scientific impacts include the following:
(i) Understanding how pore size/chemistry impact selectivity, binding energy and kinetics of physisorption will afford fundamental knowledge concerning optimal pore size/chemistry for ultra-selective removal of both trace (< 1%) and bulk impurities.
(ii) Trace gas removal from even binary gas mixtures was unattainable by physisorbents until recently, when new classes of ultramicroporous materials, HUMs (introduced by the PI in Nature, 2013, and Science, 2016) and AUMs were introduced. The nature of HUMs/AUMs means that they offer new benchmarks for selectivity by > one order of magnitude vs. zeolites and MOFs, thereby enabling removal of trace impurities.
(iii) SYNSORB will address purification of multi-component gas mixtures that mimic real world gas mixtures by using bespoke sorbents for each trace impurity (see Scheme below), enabling 1-step removal of multiple impurities for the first time.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry inorganic compounds
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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.
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.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2019-ADG
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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.
- Limerick
Ireland
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.