Organization Name: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Project Title: Electrochemically Mediated Separation for Carbon Capture and Mitigation

MIT and Siemens Corporation are developing a process to separate CO₂ from the exhaust of coal-fired power plants by using electrical energy to chemically activate and deactivate sorbents, or materials that absorb gases. The team found that certain sorbents bond to CO₂ when they are activated by electrical energy and then transported through a specialized separator that deactivates the molecule and releases it for storage. This method directly uses the electricity from the power plant, which is a more efficient but more expensive form of energy than heat, though the ease and simplicity of integrating it into existing coal-fired power plants reduces the overall cost of the technology. This process could cost as low as $31 per ton of CO₂ stored.

Project Factsheet (PDF 324KB)

Other Resources
Project Details presented at the 2010 CO2 Capture Technology Meeting in September, 2010

IMPACCT - Projects

• Alliant Techsystems: Supersonic Technology for CO2 Capture
• Codexis: Better Enzymes for Carbon Capture
• Columbia University: Chemically Accelerated Carbon Mineralization
• GE Global Research: CO2 Capture with Liquid-to-Solid Absorbents
• Georgia Tech: Composite Membranes for CO2 Capture
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: Metal Organic Framework Research
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Synthetic Catalysts for CO2 Storage
• MIT: CO2 Capture Using Electrical Energy
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory: High-Surface-Area CO2 Sponge
• Research Triangle Institute: CO2 Capture and Regeneration at Low Temperatures
• Sustainable Energy Solutions: Cryogenic Carbon Capture
• Texas A&M University: Stimuli-Responsive Metal Organic Frameworks
• University of Colorado Boulder: Gelled Ionic Liquid-Based Membranes
• University of Kentucky Center for Applied Research: Hybrid Solvent-Membrane CO2 Capture
• University of Notre Dame: Phase-Changing Ionic Liquids