![]() ![]() ![]() Roy is a research scientist in materials science and nanoengineering at Rice. Rahman is an assistant research professor in materials science and nanoengineering in Rice’s George R. “The next step would be to determine sequestration processes as well as a detailed economic analysis to understand the scalability and commercial viability of this material,” he added. Rahman (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky) Soumyabrata Roy (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky) “Our process is simpler and ‘greener’ in terms of both substances used and processing byproducts. “The manufacturing of structural materials such as metals or cement represents a significant source of industrial carbon emissions,” Rahman said. “Some are very susceptible to moisture, and you don’t want that in a structural material.”ĬALF-20, however, developed by University of Calgary Professor George Shimizu and collaborators, stands out in terms of both performance level and versatility under a variety of environmental conditions, Roy said. “Many of the existing MOFs are not very stable in varying environmental conditions,” Roy said. Removing lignin from wood makes it colorless. (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University) “Our MOF-enhanced wood is an adaptable support platform for deploying sorbent in different carbon dioxide applications.” Natural wood (left) versus delignified wood. “Right now, there is no biodegradable, sustainable substrate for deploying carbon dioxide-sorbent materials,” Rahman said. MOFs are among several nascent carbon capture technologies developed to address anthropogenic climate change. “The MOF particles easily fit into the cellulose channels and get attached to them through favorable surface interactions,” said Soumyabrata Roy, a Rice research scientist and lead author on the study. MOFs are high-surface-area sorbent materials used for their ability to adsorb carbon dioxide molecules into their pores. Next, the delignified wood is soaked in a solution containing microparticles of a metal-organic framework, or MOF, known as Calgary framework 20 (CALF-20). After removing the lignin, we use bleach or hydrogen peroxide to remove the hemicellulose.” Removing the lignin is a fairly simple process that involves a two-step chemical treatment using environmentally benign substances. “Lignin is what gives wood its color, so when you take lignin out, the wood becomes colorless. “Wood is made up of three essential components: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin,” Rahman said. Brown School of Engineering. (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University) Roy is a research scientist and Rahman is an assistant research professor in materials science and nanoengineering at Rice’s George R. Soumyabrata Roy (left) poses beside Muhammad Rahman while holding a piece of the carbon dioxide-trapping wood developed by their team. To achieve the feat, the network of cellulose fibers that gives wood its strength is first cleared out through a process known as delignification. “Our engineered wood did exhibit greater strength than normal, untreated wood.” “Wood is a sustainable, renewable structural material that we already use extensively,” Working to address both issues at once, materials scientist Muhammad Rahman and collaborators found a way to incorporate molecules of a carbon dioxide-trapping crystalline porous material into wood, according to a study published in Cell Reports Physical Science. Developing sustainable alternatives to existing materials could help mitigate climate change and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Structural materials like steel or cement come at a high cost both in dollars and carbon dioxide emissions building construction and use accounts for an estimated 40% of emissions. (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University) Wood pieces at different stages of modification, from natural (far right) to delignified (second from right) to dried, bleached and delignified (second from left) and MOF-infused functional wood (first on the left). Rice University scientists have figured out a way to engineer wood to trap carbon dioxide through a potentially scalable, energy-efficient process that also makes the material stronger for use in construction. ![]()
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