US$1.7m grant awarded for Missouri S&T CO2 capture project

The National Science Foundation has awarded a US$1.7m grant to researchers at Missouri S&T to develop a system to capture CO₂ and use it for blended cement, ultimately contributing to the decarbonisation of the cement industry.

“Our goal is to deliver an innovative, integrated and adaptable capture-and-conversion system while producing valuable cement supplements from waste CO₂,” says Dr Fateme Rezaei, The Linda and Bipin Doshi Associate Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Missouri S&T. “Waste CO₂ in industrial flues is considered a valuable resource for a variety of products, including chemicals and fuels.”

Dr Rezaei, an internationally known expert in carbon capture, is working with a team of S&T researchers, including Dr Hongyan Ma, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering. Other members of the team include Dr Kwame Awuah-Offei, chair of mining and explosives engineering, and Dr Joseph Smith, the Wayne and Gayle Laufer Chair of Energy and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, and Chengquing Qi, technical centre director at Ash Grove Cement Co of Overland Park, Kansas, which is a corporate partner.

The team will explore the fundamental chemistry needed to develop economically viable technology to convert the captured CO₂ to blended cement. Dr Rezaei says the research could be applied to other industries that emit CO₂. It can also be used to extract CO₂ directly from air.