Top Headline
ISTC News Highlights
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced funding for ISTC’s project titled ”Large Pilot Testing of Linde/BASF Advanced Post-Combustion CO2 Capture Technology at Coal Fired Power Plant.” ISTC Director Kevin OBrien who is leading the project stated that the overall goal is to design, construct, and operate a 10 MWe capture system based on the Linde-BASF advanced amine-based post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology at a coal-fired power plant in IL. The Phase I feasibility study part of the project will be conducted over the next 16 months.
Research is progressing on a novel biphasic solvent absorption method that holds promise as an innovative, cost-saving alternative to the conventional CO2 capture process in power plants. ISTC researchers have been assisting the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) on a lab-scale U.S. DOE-funded project developing a biphasic CO2 absorption process (BiCAP) with multiple stages of liquid-liquid solvent phase separation, which improves CO2 absorption kinetics and increases the carbon capture capacity.
Now the research efforts are ready for the next step. Recently U.S. DOE announced $3M of additional funding for ISGS and ISTC to conduct a three-year bench-scale study of their BiCAP technology. The proposed technology is aimed at achieving a CO2 capture cost of $30/tonne and >95% CO2 purity to meet DOE’s Transformational CO2 Capture goals.
Mixed-plastic electronics waste could be a valuable source of reusable polymers, a new study led by Illinois Sustainability Technology Center scientists suggests. The team has developed the first energy-efficient and environmentally friendly process that separates mixed polymers so that they can be recycled into new, high-quality plastic products.
Photo by L. Brian Stauffer
Article by Lois Yoksoulian
both from Illinois News Bureau
Read an additional article about this research from the ACS news room.
A research team at the Illinois Sustainability Technology Center (ISTC) has been awarded the Illinois Center for Transportation/Illinois Department of Transportation’s 2018 High Impact Research award for their ongoing study of using recycled asphalt on Illinois roads to save money on roadway projects.
