ORIGINAL NEWS – www.iqs.edu – 04/25/2019
Global warming is a worrying issue, given that gas emissions associated with human activity remain too high. The increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide CO2 in the atmosphere, due to the combustion of fossil fuels, has become a critical environmental problem, to the point that the objectives for the reduction of these emissions currently require significant changes at both the administrative and technological levels.
CO2 capture is an effective method to mitigate atmospheric levels of this component while safely maintaining energy supply levels. In addition, the captured gas can be reused, thus achieving the goal of minimizing waste, within the principles of a circular economy.
Despite all this, energy efficiency and the cost associated with CO2 capture processes remain a limiting factor for industrial applications and are the target of research into new technologies.
In the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences of IQS School of Engineering, Dr. Angel E. Gutiérrez Ortega has carried out his doctoral thesis within this area, managing to design an effective and sustainable CO2 capture system , through the use of VPSA ( Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption ) adsorption technology, which has allowed the capture and subsequent use of the captured gas in an effective and viable way. Under the direction of IQS professors Dr. Rosa Nomen Ribé and Dr. Rafael González Olmos, the thesis has been carried out within the Industrial Doctorate Plan of the Generalitat de Catalunya , in the co-financing modality between IQS School of Engineering (Ramon Llull University) and the company GasN2.
The extensive study carried out by Dr. Gutiérrez has ranged from the selection of the most suitable and effective adsorbent material , chosen from several commercial options, to the construction and validation of a three-column adsorption model on a laboratory scale and, finally, the implementation of the technology in an industrial pilot plant , where it has been possible to capture CO2 from natural gas-fired power plants, with good capture performance, a purity of the captured gas greater than 90% and with energy consumption low enough to ensure the viability of the system obtained, which has also been patented.
To close the circle of circular economy with 'zero' waste, the captured CO2 has been reused as a neutralizing agent in the company's own wastewater treatment plant.
According to the General Manager of GasN2, Oriol Martínez Huguet, “ we were looking for a standardized and simple system, flexible but universal. And we have achieved it!”. “We are very, very satisfied and will repeat the collaboration in this modality of industrial doctorates”. “For the company, it is an effort, but if the objective is to base its growth on innovating and developing new technologies, useful for the industry, we need agreements and collaborations like this one with IQS”
Industrial Doctorate Plan
The objective of the Industrial Doctorate Plan is to contribute to the competitiveness and internationalization of Catalan industry, strengthen the instruments to capture the talent generated by the country and place future doctors in a position to develop R&D&I projects in a company.
The essential element of the industrial doctorate process is the research project of the company or institution in which the doctoral student develops his/her research training, in collaboration with a university or research center , and which is the subject of a doctoral thesis. Industrial doctorates thus act as bridges for knowledge transfer and contribute to strengthening the relationships between the industrial fabric of Catalonia and universities and research centers.
