Analysis of Liquid Chemisorbent for CO2 removal and Solvent Vapor Processing of Ternary Polymer Blends

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorVerduzco, Rafael
dc.creatorSharma, Saurabh
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-17T14:58:21Z
dc.date.available2019-05-17T14:58:21Z
dc.date.created2018-05
dc.date.issued2018-04-20
dc.date.submittedMay 2018
dc.date.updated2019-05-17T14:58:21Z
dc.description.abstractA robust, reliable, and low-power system is needed for carbon dioxide (CO2) remediation in deep-space exploration systems. The current CO2 removal system on the International Space Station relies on zeolites, but an alternative CO2 scrubbing technology based on liquid amines has recently been proposed and demonstrated. In this project, we critically evaluate the use of liquid amines to uptake CO2 and provide recommendations for implementation and optimization. We model CO2 uptake using COMSOL and generate concentration profiles for liquid amine and CO2 in gas and liquid phases. We show that liquid amines have significant capacity for CO2 uptake, and the rate of uptake is limited by the available surface area and CO2 diffusion in the gas phase. Higher surface areas, gas mixing, and increased gas velocities can produce uptake rates needed for CO2 removal. The second project focusses on solvent vapor processing of ternary polymer blends to produce co-continuous phases. Co-continuous phases are of interest for a broad range of applications including separations, energy storage, photovoltaics, among other applications. However, most methods for producing co-continuous phases rely on kinetically-arrested phase separation. Here, we pursue the development of equilibrium co-continuous phases through ternary polymer blends consisting of two homopolymers and a compatibilizing block copolymer. We specifically focus on solvent-vapor annealing to equilibrate blends and achieve co-continuous structures in polymer films. Our work shows that solvent-vapor annealing can be used to target and tailor the domain sizes of co-continuous polymer blend films.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationSharma, Saurabh. "Analysis of Liquid Chemisorbent for CO2 removal and Solvent Vapor Processing of Ternary Polymer Blends." (2018) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105733">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105733</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/105733
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectCO2 Chemisorption
dc.subjectDeep space exploration
dc.subjectCOMSOL
dc.subjectSolvent Vapor processing
dc.subjectGISAXS
dc.subjectternary polymer blends
dc.titleAnalysis of Liquid Chemisorbent for CO2 removal and Solvent Vapor Processing of Ternary Polymer Blends
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentChemical and Biomolecular Engineering
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineering
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.majorPolymer Science
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
SHARMA-DOCUMENT-2018.pdf
Size:
4.45 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.83 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.6 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Rice University Electronic Theses and Dissertations