Waste milk could be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants

Research from Clarkson University, which shows how excess milk can be used to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) resulting from emissions from fossil fuel power plants, is reported on the cover of the November issue of Advanced sustainable systems.

The stylized cover artwork features a North Country landmark, the reservoir of a Raquette River hydroelectric plant in nearby Hannawa Falls, where two of the authors of the article reside.

Two of the main sources of greenhouse gases are CO₂ emissions from fossil power plants and methane emissions from cattle. There is a strong scientific consensus that emissions like these are causing human-induced climate change.

The article “CO₂ Capture: dry and wet CO₂ Acquisition from milk-derived microporous carbons with optimized hydrophobicity “, explains that it is possible to significantly reduce the CO of the power plant₂ using excess or waste milk from cows to create activated carbon, which will adsorb or rub off CO₂ from the output.

“Our challenge was to create inexpensive” green “activated carbon,” says co-author Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences and Distinguished Professor Kodak CAMP Mario Wriedt. “Powdered milk can be converted to advanced activated carbon with the right porosity and surface chemistry to adsorb CO₂, allowing for much better control than current materials used for this process, such as coconut shells or charcoal. “

This is the first state-of-the-art performance report for an activated carbon derived from a natural compound. The process for making sanitary napkins is similar to roasting coffee, but with a secondary agent that cuts nano-scale holes in the material.

“Think extremely dark roasted coffee beans,” says co-author of the University of Texas at Austin and former Clarkson professor David Mitlin. “Nano-scale holes, due to their strict size and surface chemistry, are very effective in trapping CO₂ keeping out the water vapor. The CO₂ is reversibly trapped in the micropores of the carbon absorber, which can be reused once the CO₂ is released from its pores. “

Wriedt notes that the dairy product used in the process would not be taken from the feed.

He claims that although milk consumption has decreased by more than 30% since 1980, there has been a 13% increase in annual milk production per dairy cow, creating an oversupply in which farmers now dispose of more than 50 millions of gallons of milk per year. “This use of waste milk could actually be a boost for the dairy industry,” he says.

The article says that cows release an average of 150 to 260 pounds of methane per year and that using their milk to capture CO₂ it would also help offset this issue.

The researchers say these milk-derived carbon absorbers could also be used in other applications, such as indoor air purification or water treatment, and that commercialization of the process could take place in the future.

The other co-authors of the paper are Clarkson alumni Jesse Pokrzywinski, Darpandeep Aulakh and Hubert Bilan; Sam Marble, Clarkson’s undergraduate chemical engineering student; and Mitlin postdoctoral researcher Viet Hung Pham.

The research was enabled by a Clarkson University Craig-Ignite Research Fellowship.

Advanced sustainable systems is an international, peer-reviewed and interdisciplinary journal that publishes outstanding research findings on the development and implementation of systems, solutions, technologies and applications that share a focus on the advancement of sustainable living.