This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on the commercialization of porous materials for the control of air quality in confined spaces. This application is important because it allows the removal of carbon dioxide as it builds up in the air due to human respiration in enclosed spaces such as submarines, space cabins (International Space Station), and commercial airliners. The build-up of CO2 in these environments must be mitigated to avoid health issues such as cognitive impairment, drowsiness, increased heart rate, dizziness, and shortness of breath. The principle innovation to be exploited in this work is the controlled and tunable synthesis of carbide-derived carbons (CDCs). These porous materials have been found to act as efficient "molecular sponges", capable of "soaking up" toxic chemicals such as ammonia, formaldehyde, and other chemical agents. The materials are also amenable to various chemical treatments such as acid/base washes and functionalization, which extends their applicability to a variety of target separations.
CDCs have the potential for high impact in the air purification and gas separations fields, but there are major knowledge gaps in scale-up of the materials and integration at the device level, which are both essential for commercializing these materials. The researchers in this project will develop the methods necessary to scale-up the synthesis of carbide-derived carbons to the 20-gram scale. The procedures for producing CDCs beyond simple lab scale are currently unknown and are expected to have a significant impact on the use of CDCs in industry. Further, the project will focus on the development of a prototype test bed, where the performance of a proof-of-concept adsorption cycle can be demonstrated. Ultimately, the project will provide the synthesis means and performance data to create an adsorption unit capable of controlling CO2 concentrations in confined spaces to specified levels (< 1000ppm). The expected output of this work will fall into three major categories: (i) materials scale-up procedures; (ii) prototype/test bed design and construction; (iii) demonstration of CO2 removal performance under realistic conditions. The personnel involved in this project, including a chemical engineering undergraduate student and postdoctoral fellow, will interface with project partners NASA Johnson Space Center and experts in entrepreneurship at VentureLab for training in customer discovery and business development methods. This training will provide the student and postdoc with a unique experience that includes customer discovery practices and exposure to fast-paced research of a more applied nature.
The project engages NASA Johnson Space Center for testing of the prototype. Such device-level testing is too large for lab scale, but still too small to adapt for larger industry testing. Thus, the NASA partners will provide a critical bridge across the performance gap to move this innovation from the lab to commercial scale. They will provide realistic performance data by project end to support the continued development of the device from research discovery toward commercial reality.
