From Point Source CO2 Capture to Grid-Scale H2 Storage – The Promise and Science of the Ultramicroporous Adsorbent Aluminum Formate (ALF)

Gas storage and separations are vitally important to many areas of society. Though perhaps easy to appreciate the utility of storing gasses, separating one from another is just as significant. In fact, such processes are conservatively responsible for up to hundreds of billions of dollars of global commerce each year. Significant separations include isolating O₂ and noble gasses from air, as well as isolating short chain hydrocarbons from one another. However, some separations hold more existential significance, like our ability to sequester CO₂ from humid fossil fuel emissions. Recently, coworkers and I have shown that aluminum formate [Al(HCOO)₃, ALF] is an inexpensive material capable of excellent CO₂ adsorption and outstanding CO₂/N₂ selectivity at elevated temperatures (323 Kelvin). Given ALFs aggressively low cost and chemical composition, we also believe it is one of the most promising materials for tackling the megascale problem of CO₂ capture. Furthermore, our ongoing work has uncovered that ALF not only captures CO₂ but also is an excellent candidate for grid scale H₂ storage above non-cryogenic temperatures. In my talk, I will discuss the general structure property relationships of ALF, but also why its behavior deviates from many adsorbents as a function of pressure, temperature, and time. Our findings are supported by a suite of characterization techniques, including in-situ X-ray and neutron powder diffraction, gas-isotherms, gas breakthrough, thermogravimetric analysis, as well as technoeconomic analysis. 

Hayden Evans (UGA BSCHEM 2012) received his PhD in Chemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara in 2018. In 2019, he joined the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) as a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellow, becoming a staff Research Chemist in 2021. His work uses neutrons, X-rays, as well as other advanced characterization techniques to study materials for future energy economy technologies (energy generation, storage, transport, by-product remediation). His primary focus at NIST has centered on examining materials for gas sequestration and storage of gases, and solid-state electrolyte materials for batteries.