AIMPLAS membranes capture and Convert CO2

SOSCO2 and INNOPUL projects, financed by IVACE and FEDER funds, provide a solution to reduce emissions in the cement, tile, plastic and chemical industries, allowing the selective capture of CO2 emissions, a gas that impacts the environment, in order to transform it into chemical products such as ethylene, cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates, as well as 100% recyclable structures for construction.

Carbon dioxide, commonly known as CO2, is a gas known to be a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. Although it is not a toxic gas, the main problem is the increase in its concentration in the atmosphere which produces the so-called greenhouse effect. In the salads or packaged sandwiches we eat, in the sparkling water, soft drinks or beer we drink, there is CO2. Therefore, capturing this gas, which is abundant in our environment, and reusing it as a raw material in solvents, pharmaceuticals or biofuels, among other applications, would provide a solution to one of the greatest environmental challenges: climate change.
In order to turn carbon dioxide into a resource, AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Institute, is working on the SOSCO2 project, funded by the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE), which addresses this challenge through two strategic lines: the development of selective CO2 separation technologies based on polymeric membranes with advanced properties and the subsequent use of the captured dioxide to obtain chemical products with greater added value.
The system developed in this project will allow, in the words of Sergio Sopeña, decarbonisation researcher at AIMPLAS, “the cement, tile, plastics and chemical industries in the Valencian Community not only to reduce their emissions, but also to benefit from an apparently worthless compound such as carbon dioxide and transform it into products of great interest in the market such as ethylene, cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates”.
Carbon recovery technologies thus play a key role in achieving a circular economy. For this reason, entities from the ceramics, cement and chemical sectors such as Laurentia Technologies, Torrecid, Quimacova, UBE or LafargeHolcim have shown their interest in the development of this type of sustainable technologies and have collaborated in this work from the beginning.

In order to reduce the excess of CO2 in the atmosphere, AIMPLAS is also researching with the INNOPUL project the development of 100% recyclable structural parts with a competitive cost that facilitates their rapid introduction to the market. The development represents a more sustainable alternative for the construction sector and more economical, given the greater durability of these products and the lower maintenance they require.
“The innovative end products of this project will provide the envelopes and surfaces of buildings and structures with long-lasting strength, in addition to their recyclability and other facilities, such as the possibility of being transformed into curved profiles or joined to other materials by welding, which offers the possibility of obtaining hybrid metal-composite structures without using adhesives,” says Marta Pérez, researcher in Construction and Renewable Energies at AIMPLAS.
In this way, AIMPLAS is working on a new manufacturing line of profiles with high mechanical and recyclable performance by means of an automated production process known as thermoplastic pultrusion.
Eight companies are collaborating in this initiative, covering the entire value chain of this project, from manufacturers of plastic materials and processing companies to construction companies and architectural and engineering services: Eslava, UBE, Xúquer Arquitectura e Ingeniería, Miraplas, Mocaplas, Urbana, Typsa and the Colegio Oficial de Aparejadores, Arquitectos Técnicos e Ingenieros de Edificación de Valencia (CAATIE).

AIMPLAS is a non-profit organisation belonging to the Network of Technological Institutes of the Valencian Community, REDIT, and offers companies in the plastics sector comprehensive and customised solutions, from R&D&I projects to training and competitive and strategic intelligence services, as well as other technological services such as analysis and testing or technical advice.