PFI-TT: Three Dimensional (3D) Printing of Ceramic Components with Hierarchical and Interconnected Pore Structures for Carbon Capture Applications

Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to address global warming and climate change by reducing the operational costs of carbon capture technologies. If successful, this project will enable manufacturing of innovative ceramic monolithic adsorbents, the key components in carbon capture technologies. The new adsorbents may require less energy for regeneration and adsorption than existing amines-based absorbents. The project seeks to generate the scientific and technological knowledge necessary for producing the adsorbents through three dimensional (3D) printing. The wide-spread adoption of carbon capture technologies may help alleviate global warming and climate change, as well as save lives and economic losses from extreme weather events. Furthermore, the fast-growing carbon market will create new jobs in the U.S. Through this project’s educational and leadership development program, the graduate students will gain a solid understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship and sharpen their research, project management, and leadership skills. The undergraduate students will strengthen their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities and gain a basic understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship. The involvement of students from underrepresented groups will increase the diversity of the future STEM workforce. The proposed project aims to develop the entire 3D printing process for producing ceramic components with hierarchical and interconnected pore structures that can be used as adsorbents for carbon capture applications. It is very difficult and costly to produce such ceramic components using existing manufacturing methods. The proposed project utilizes binder jetting three dimensional (3D) printing with granulated powders. The novelty of the proposed adsorbents is that they contain interconnected pores with a quadrimodal size distribution. The research objectives are: (1) to develop the feedstock powder preparation process, (2) to identify a compatible binder for the feedstock powder, and (3) to develop the binder jetting 3D printing process. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.