(728a) Regenerable Amine-Functional Polymers for Carbon Dioxide Capture from Ambient Air

The continually increasing levels of atmospheric CO₂ resulting from the burning of fossil fuels has triggered an enhanced concern for developing efficient and economically plausible methods for capture and sequestration of this greenhouse gas. Commercially available processes for carbon dioxide capture mainly involve the use of amine-based liquid absorbents which require high energy consumption due to their relatively high heat capacities. Our work has focused on the synthesis of several amine-based polymers, namely, poly(vinyl amine), poly(allyl amine), poly(acrylamide), poly(vinyl formamide) and, poly(vinyl pyridine) and their fabrication as supported column packing materials for use in carbon dioxide separation from ambient atmosphere. The produced materials exhibit CO₂ adsorption capacities on the order of 50 mg/g at room temperature and atmospheric pressures. In addition, their regeneration is achieved at temperatures around 110 ^oC.  Our results indicate that the ability of these materials to effectively separate CO₂ at the low concentrations typical of ambient conditions, offers great promise for their use in a number of environmental, industrial and scientific applications.