2021 R&D 100 Award for BIG-NET: Bis-iminoguanidine Negative Emission Technology

Prize: Honorary award

Description

Researchers from ORNL developed a method for separation of carbon dioxide from the air that has the potential to permanently remove billions of tons of the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. In the process, scientists use an aqueous solution containing ORNL-discovered receptors called Bis-iminoguanidine, or BIGs, to absorb carbon dioxide.

Upon absorption of carbon dioxide, BIGs turn into an insoluble crystalline salt, which can easily be removed from the liquid solution. The carbon dioxide from the salt can then be extracted under mild conditions and sent for deep underground storage, either in aquifers or former oil fields.

Additionally, industry partner ReactWell is developing a method to convert the extracted carbon dioxide into ethanol to be used in hand sanitizer and spirits.

Holocene Climate Corporation has also taken interest in the project and is working to scale up the technology and commercialize it with the ultimate goal of long-term storage of carbon dioxide for mitigating climate change.

Funding for this project was provided by the DOE Office of Science, DOE Office of Technology Transitions and Fossil Energy, and ReactWell LLC.

ORNL’s Radu Custelcean, ReactWell’s Brandon Iglesias and Holocene Climate Corporation’s Anca Timofte are leading the development. ORNL’s Charles Seipp, Neil Williams, Costas Tsouris and Kashif Nawaz have contributed to the development.

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