UKCCSRC Knowledge Exchange Conference 2025 – Parallel 1a: CO2 Capture (ECR Meeting Fund)

Kofo Awodun (Brunel University of London) share their key insights  from “Parallel 1a: CO₂ Capture” at the UKCCSRC Knowledge Exchange Conference 2025

The UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC) recently held its 2025 Knowledge Exchange Conference at the University of Sheffield, bringing together researchers, industry experts, and practitioners working at the forefront of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS). Among the wide range of discussions and presentations, the “Parallel 1a: CO2 Capture” session stood out for its focus on innovative approaches and technologies that could play a pivotal role in achieving the UK’s decarbonisation targets. This session featured two insightful talks—one from an academic researcher developing advanced membrane systems for CO₂ capture, and the other from an industry leader exploring scalable production of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for large-scale deployment. Together, the presentations highlighted the dynamic interplay between fundamental science, industrial innovation, and real-world applications in tackling one of the most pressing challenges of our time: mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

The first speaker in this session was Pierre Dieudonné, a second-year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, whose research centres on the development of polymeric membranes for carbon capture. Dieudonné provided a detailed and engaging presentation on the process of synthesising polymeric membranes and their potential advantages for CO₂ separation and recovery. A central theme of his talk was the influence of operating temperature on membrane performance. He explained that temperature is not merely a background condition but a critical parameter that significantly affects both the selectivity and recovery rate of CO₂ during the capture process. By carefully considering temperature effects, researchers and engineers can design more efficient systems, ultimately reducing the cost and complexity of industrial deployment.

Dieudonné also highlighted the economic dimensions of carbon capture, particularly through the lens of process evaluation. He outlined an equation that integrates multiple financial considerations into a single framework: the total annual cost, including both material and equipment expenditures, along with carbon taxes and penalties. This comprehensive approach underscores that the economic viability of capture technologies cannot be separated from the regulatory and policy environment in which they are deployed. For industries such as cement production, where margins are tight and emissions are significant, these cost considerations become decisive.

To ground his research in real-world application, Dieudonné selected cement plant flue gas as a case study, modelling a stream with a CO₂ output of approximately ten tonnes per hour. The cement sector is well known as one of the most difficult industries to decarbonise, due both to the process emissions inherent to cement chemistry and the sector’s high energy intensity. However, flue gas from cement plants often contains CO₂ concentrations that are advantageous for membrane-based separation. By studying this application, Dieudonné is not only testing the technical feasibility of polymeric membranes but also assessing their potential to deliver meaningful reductions in one of the hardest-to-abate industrial sectors. His work demonstrated how a combination of scientific innovation, careful economic modelling, and sector-specific insight can advance the case for membrane-based CCUS solutions

Figure 1 – Pierre Dieudonné giving his talk on Optimisation of Polymeric Membrane Systems for Innovative Carbon Capture Processes.

The second presentation in the session shifted the focus from academic research to industrial innovation. Chitrakshi Goel, a senior application engineer at Promethean Particles Ltd, discussed her company’s pioneering efforts to revolutionise the field of solid sorbent-based carbon capture through the scalable production of MOFs. Metal-organic frameworks are porous crystalline materials that offer exceptional surface areas and tunable chemical properties, making them promising candidates for CO₂ capture. However, one of the key barriers to their widespread adoption has been the challenge of producing them consistently and at scale without compromising material quality.