PhD Position Multi-material 3D-printing of CO2-capture adsorbents

Background and PhD-research:

The increasing concentration of CO2 due to anthropogenic emissions is the primary driver of climate change and global warming, posing significant threats to ecosystems, human health, and economies worldwide. In response, the scientific community is intensively researching effective and sustainable CO2mitigation strategies. Among these, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies have emerged as critical methods for reducing CO2-emissions at their source (industrial flue gases) or directly from the atmosphere (Direct Air Capture).

Solid adsorption using porous materials is an interesting option to capture CO2 from dilute flue gases or the air. Typically, tailored adsorbents with a high CO2 working capacity, fast adsorption and desorption kinetics, and a high selectivity of CO2 versus the other components in the gas streams are employed. However, widespread industrial adoption of solid adsorption CO2-capture technology is hindered by the need for further cost reduction and energy efficiency improvements. Thus, research on using renewable energy or low-cost energy sources and employing process intensification techniques using structured adsorbents with well-designed flow patterns and electrification are important for further scaling up the technology.

Electrification of the CO2-capture process, for example through electrical swing adsorption (ESA), microwave swing adsorption (MSA), or magnetic induction swing adsorption (MISA) presents a promising route to utilize renewable energy, improve energy efficiency, reduce the cycle time, and thus reduce the operational costs of solid CO2-capture. With these techniques the adsorbent materials can be rapidly and selectively heated, enabling swift CO2 desorption while avoiding unnecessary heating of the reactor system. This rapid cycling decreases the required amount of adsorbent, while selective heating improves the energy efficiency of the process. Despite these benefits, these technologies still face some technical challenges for example related to inhomogeneous heating which can lead to hot-spots, inefficient CO2-desorption and reduced overall system performance.

Advances in 3D-printing technology can offer a novel and unique solution to some of these challenges. 3D-printing enables the fabrication of complex, custom-designed adsorbent structures with optimized flow characteristics with a large freedom of design which may overcome current limitations, enhancing process efficiency and viability for industrial implementation.
This PhD research focuses on developing 3D-printed adsorbent structures using commercially available materials, optimized for fast and homogeneous heating in electrified adsorption, while maintaining high CO2-capture performance (kinetics, working capacity, pressure drop).

In the initial phase, the student will focus on investigating the relationship between porous architecture, CO2-capture performance, and electrified heating in homogeneously printed adsorbents. Subsequently, the research will advance towards multi-material printing to investigate its potential for tackling some current problems for electrified regeneration. Throughout the project, emphasis will be placed on minimizing the negative impact of printing paste composition (binders and additives), shaping and post-processing on the capture capacity and CO2-adsorption kinetics. Fine nozzle sizes will ensure short diffusion paths within the 3D-printed structure, with designs aimed at maximizing bed capacity and minimizing process pressure drop. Advancing multi-material 3D-printing beyond the current state of the art will lay the foundation for significant developments in 3D-printing technology for adsorption, catalysis, and beyond.

The research will be executed mainly at VITO (Belgium) where formulation, 3D-printing, materials characterization, CO2-adsorption tests and developments on the multi-material printing technology will take place. Electrified adsorption tests and integrated application tests will be performed at the University of Zaragoza (Spain)

PhD supervision:
The PhD fellowship is granted within the collaboration between the University of Zaragoza (Spain) and VITO. The successful candidate will be supervised by Prof.  Reyes Mallada (Univ. of Zaragoza) and co-promoted by Dr. Yoran De Vos (VITO).

How to apply?
Applications should be submitted online and include a copy of your CV, diploma transcripts and a cover letter.

More information about the application procedure is available on the VITO website.

Overview of the jury’s scheduled in 2025 and deadlines: https://vito.be/en/jobs/phd/phd-jury

• Master of science, with a strong background in chemical engineering / chemical engineering technology

• Strong analytical problem-solving skills (creative, critical, and open-minded)

• Hands-on mentality

• Experience with or interest in learning programming skills in software such as Python,…

• Good oral and written communication skills in English.