Liquid to capture acid gases

A reusable organic liquid that can pull harmful gases such as carbon dioxide or sulphur dioxide out of industrial emissions from power plants has been developed by US researchers.

The process developed at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) could directly replace current methods.

The technology, which can be retrofitted to power plants, could capture double the amount of harmful gases in a way that uses no water and less energy and saves money.

Harmful gases such as carbon dioxide or sulphur dioxide are called ‘acid gases’. The scrubbing process uses acid gas-binding organic liquids that contain no water and appear similar to oily compounds.

These liquids capture the acid gases at near room temperature. Scientists then heat the liquid to recover and dispose of the acid gases properly.

It is claimed these recyclable liquids require much less energy to heat but can hold two times more harmful gases by weight than the current leading liquid absorbent used in power plants. It is a combination of water and monoethanolamine - a basic organic molecule that grabs the carbon dioxide.