Research Projects

Global warming and climate change are among the most pressing challenges humanity faces today. The concentration of CO₂ has increased to 415 ppm, rising 2 to 3 ppm annually, mainly from industries and vehicular emissions. If this continues, there is a risk of irreversible environmental consequences as the tipping point of 450 ppm will be crossed. This indicates that the world must depend on CO₂ capture technologies to mitigate climate change consequences. 50 billion tons of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere is rising. To capture it, around 100,000 CO₂ capture plants need to be implemented with a capacity of 0.5 gigaton per year according to current data. Many countries like the USA, Canada, Norway, Australia, the UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, the Netherland, and Iceland have already started research and established a few demo plants for CO₂ capture. India is also the third-largest emitter of CO₂ (2.9 metric tons in 2023) after the USA and China. Our Motherland has always incorporated the best for local and global benefit. Thus, in this scenario, India cannot lag behind. So we aim to develop technology that will be directly applied towards commercialization. This proposal focuses on CO₂ capture from industrial fossil fuel sources with a concentration of 10-15% and from the atmosphere at 400 ppm via direct air capture using metal-organic frameworks (MOF), bypassing the usage of liquid amines, which require high energy for regeneration and degrade over time, producing harmful chemicals. Conversely, MOFs are customizable, with high surface area and gas-absorbing properties, making them well-suited for CO₂ capture. Fluorinated Metal-Organic Frameworks (F-MOFs) have emerged as promising materials for CO₂ capture due to the strong interaction between inorganic fluoride and CO₂. This research proposal aims to develop novel MOFs with enhanced CO₂ adsorption capacities and selectivity, contributing to the advancement of sustainable carbon capture technologies. Although there are many challenges, our focus will be on improving bulk production techniques that can be integrated seamlessly with innovative, environmentally friendly devices that capture CO₂ using commercial MOF material with high efficiency. Eminent Indian and international scientists have already conducted some basic studies, but commercialization remains a challenge yet to be addressed. This proposal also focuses on improving bulk production techniques that can be seamlessly integrated into novel environmental devices aimed at capturing CO₂ from concentrated sources, such as flue gas, and dilute sources, such as ambient air. This will be a step forward toward the commercialization of these materials.