Projects

The NanoMem project aims to develop porous gas separation membranes to recover hydrogen injected into natural gas for transportation and storage and to separate carbon dioxide from gas emissions from the cement industry, both at low temperatures. The ideal membranes should be as thin as possible to maximize gas flux, mechanically robust so they do not crack, and have a well-defined pore size to achieve high separation efficiency. Current membranes do not meet all these requirements. Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and zeolite-based "nanosheets" have been discovered as one of the most promising solutions. Due to their well-defined in-plane pores, only certain gases can penetrate these sub-nanometre-thick layers. However, the fabrication of such membranes with a homogeneous microstructure on porous ceramic supports remains a challenge. Our goal in this project is therefore to develop novel, robust, and easily scalable methods for the fabrication of such membranes.

https://www.werkstofftechnologien.de/projekte/nachwuchsfoerderung/nachwuchsgruppen-energietechnik/dr-marie-alix-pizzoccaro-zilamy-nanomem

EU transport and power generation accounts approximately each for one-third of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion. While current decarbonisation measures are focused principally on two alternatives: electrification and fuel switching, these are not suitablefor the harder-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty road transport or decentralised energy production due to payload, autonomy and/or fuel supply requisites, among other issues. In fact, these sectors still rely on fossil fuels for 94% of its energy needs, constituting one of the main challenges to comply with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. These sectors require a system that allows to exploit the advantages of the use of liquid fuels, as are high energy density, fast refilling and easy transport, but bypassing the efficiency limitations and eliminating CO2 emissions. In addition, to tackle the alarming increase of GHG emissions and the rise of global temperature, it is necessary to deploy an effective solution in the short-medium term. Therefore, it is key not to depend on the construction of new infrastructures and be able to use the existing ones for the transport, storage and supply of liquid fuels. The main objective of ALL-IN Zero is to develop a multi-fuel system to generate electrical and mechanical power with zero emissions. This system will feed low, zero carbon or carbon-negative fuels like ammonia, natural gas, biogas or alcohols, into a Compact Membrane Reactor producing a common intermediate temporary energy vector to be consumed in situ by power generation systems such as internal combustion engines and fuel cells. ALL-IN Zero will accelerate decarbonisation earlier than other technologies, using available productive and supply chains, SoA technologies, and upstream and downstream treatments for mobile and stationary solutions.

https://allinzero.eu/