Nanotube sieve

A novel technology to trap large-scale greenhouse gas emissions caused by coal mining and power generation is being developed by a University of Queensland researcher.

Dr John Zhu, Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering, aims to develop a carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane for gas separation that will work like a sieve to separate high volumes of methane or carbon dioxide from other gases.

Dr Zhu said that the CNT technology would trap moving gases up to 100 times faster than other gas separation techniques and could therefore be used by large-scale plants such as power stations.

'Conventional membranes such as polymeric and metal membranes, porous silica and carbon molecular sieves all show a trade-off between how well they separate gases and how much gas they can process,' he said.

'The CNT membranes can both separate effectively and process large volumes of gas, making them superior to conventional membranes at the large scale required for coal-fired power plants or natural gas processing,' he added.