A total of £368,792 has been awarded to the projects, which all support the UK government’s net zero objectives and will last between 3-9 months. For the first time, early career researchers (ECRs) were eligible to apply, with £100,000 ring-fenced for ECR applicants. Five of the successful proposals are led by ECRs.
Ruqaiyah Patel, joint head of Energy and Decarbonisation at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) said: “Further research into carbon capture and storage will enable us to capture, store and utilise greenhouse emissions from essential processes that cannot be decarbonised and potentially save the UK tens of billions of pounds over the next two decades.”
One of the projects to receive funding from the UKCCSRC is Heriot-Watt University’s ‘Rockit’ project, led by Dr Amir Jahanbakhsh from Heriot-Watt’s School of Engineering & Physical Sciences.
“Rockit is a multidisciplinary project developing a technique to eliminate CO2 from the atmosphere safely and permanently,” said Dr Jahanbakhsh. “Mineralisation of carbon through the reaction of CO2 with rocks rich in calcium or magnesium converts CO2 into solid rock.
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“I am collaborating with colleagues from the University of Edinburgh to successfully investigate different aspects of this technique and potentially contribute to taking it to a higher stage of technology readiness.”
Elsewhere, Cranfield University’s Dr Peter Clough is leading the project ‘Developing the understanding of prototyping of amine electrostatic precipitation’, which he explained aims to advance and demonstrate a new technique for capturing fugitive amines released from CO2 scrubbers, which has passed a mathematical proof-of-concept.
“The next step is to develop a physical prototype of the amine electrostatic precipitator (ESP), based on the design produced and modelling performed in collaboration with Petrofac, with previous UKCCSRC funding. This technology will ensure CCS plants can adhere to current and future emission limits and protect the environment,” Dr Clough commented.
Other projects to receive funding include Brunel University London’s project aiming for utilisation of biomass combustion ash for synthesising cost-effective sorbents for carbon capture, and a project from Wolverhampton University aiming to examine the downflow gas contactor (DGC) to capture CO2 using different solvents.
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