Abstract

The limited flux and selectivities of current carbon dioxide membranes and the high costs associated with conventional absorption-based CO2 sequestration call for alternative CO2 separation approaches. Here we describe an enzymatically active, ultra-thin, biomimetic membrane enabling CO2 capture and separation under ambient pressure and temperature conditions. The membrane comprises a ~18-nm-thick close-packed array of 8 nm diameter hydrophilic pores that stabilize water by capillary condensation and precisely accommodate the metalloenzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA). CA catalyzes the rapid interconversion of CO2 and water into carbonic acid. By minimizing diffusional constraints, stabilizing and concentrating CA within the nanopore array to a concentration 10× greater than achievable in solution, our enzymatic liquid membrane separates CO2 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure at a rate of 2600 GPU with CO2/N2 and CO2/H2 selectivities as high as 788 and 1500, respectively, the highest combined flux and selectivity yet reported for ambient condition operation.

Details

Title
Ultra-thin enzymatic liquid membrane for CO2 separation and capture
Author
Fu, Yaqin 1 ; Ying-Bing, Jiang 2 ; Dunphy, Darren 1 ; Xiong, Haifeng 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Coker, Eric 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Chou, Stanley S 3 ; Zhang, Hongxia 4 ; Vanegas, Juan M 5 ; Croissant, Jonas G 1 ; Cecchi, Joseph L 6 ; Rempe, Susan B 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Brinker, C Jeffrey 7 

1  Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA 
2  Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA 
3  Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA 
4  Angstrom Thin Film Technologies LLC, Albuquerque, NM, USA 
5  Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of Physics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA 
6  Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA 
7  Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA 
Pages
1-12
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Mar 2018
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03285-x
ProQuest document ID
2011621556
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.