Additive Manufacturing of CO2 sorbents for high-temperature Carbon Capture

Laureando: Tessarolo Marco Titolo tesi: Additive Manufacturing of CO2 sorbents for high-temperature Carbon Capture Corso di Laurea: Ingegneria dei Materiali Relatrice: Franchin Giorgia Thermally activated hydrotalcites display great potential for Carbon Capture processes due to their ability to readily adsorb CO2 at temperatures as high as 300°C. Geopolymers are inorganic binders which couple a facile and low-cost synthesis route with excellent mechanical strength and porosity, making them promising matrix candidates for the immobilisation of active fillers. Various formulations of geopolymer-hydrotalcite composite monoliths with a well-defined macroporous structure were 3D printed through the Direct Ink Writing (DIW) technique, then characterized through compression testing, microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD and CO2 adsorption tests. The difficult printing of potassium-based geopolymers required the use of carboxymethylcellulose as a rheological additive, whose removal with an appropriate thermal treatment was investigated to avoid performance loss in application. The composites, after thermal activation at 400°C, show high CO2 uptake which increases together with hydrotalcite content, with a better contribution of the K-based geopolymer matrices compared to their Na-based counterparts.