IIT-Gn team uses cow dung to develop CO2 trap

Ahmedabad: Researchers at the IIT Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) have developed a synthesized porous carbon using cow dung for sustainable carbon dioxide capture. Researchers said that cow dung, as an abundant biomass source, can be used for scalable nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NDPC-1).The material, using 2.95% nitrogen, is said to perform 58% better than pristine carbon. The findings were published in the journal ‘Surfaces and Interfaces'.Experts said that carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) is a strategy to reduce the CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and other sources. Several of the existing CO2 adsorbents contain corrosive and toxic materials, generate wastewater and environmental contaminants, researchers said."To make it, we mixed cow dung with melamine (which provides nitrogen) and potassium bicarbonate," said Ranjeet Kumar, a PhD student. "Nitrogen incorporated into carbon improves the material's ability to attract CO2, and potassium bicarbonate is a green, less corrosive, and effective activating agent to create a high surface area in the material," said Sree Harsha Bharadwaj, another PhD student.Dr Chinmay Ghoroi, their guide, said that pyrolysed cow dung without activation performed 58% better than pristine carbon. He added that the material also showed better cyclability for adsorption and desorption cycles.