"Molecular basket" sorbents for separation of CO ₂ and H ₂S from various gas streams

A new generation of "molecular basket" sorbents (MBS) has been developed by the optimum combination of the nanoporous material and CO ₂/H ₂S-philic polymer sorbent to increase the accessible sorption sites for CO ₂ capture from flue gas (Postdecarbonization), and for CO ₂ and H ₂S separation from the reduced gases, such as synthesis gas, reformate (Predecarbonization), natural gas, coal/biomass gasification gas, and biogas. The sorption capacity of 140 mg of CO ₂/g of sorb was achieved at 15 kPa CO ₂ partial pressure, which shows superior performance in comparison with other known sorbents. In addition, an exceptional dependence of MBS sorption performance on temperature for CO ₂ and H ₂S was found and discussed at a molecular level via the computational chemistry approach. On the basis of the fundamental understanding of MBS sorption characteristics, an innovative sorption process was proposed an d demonstrated at the laboratory scale for removing and recovering CO ₂ and H ₂S, respectively, from a model gas. The present study provides a new approach for development of the novel CO ₂/H ₂S sorbents and may have a major impact on the advance of science and technology for CO ₂/H ₂S capture and separation from various gases.