Promethean Particles, a pioneer in the development of high specification nanotechnologies, has launched a new range of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) which address the challenges posed by climate change by adsorbing CO2 from the world’s atmosphere.
The cutting-edge solutions have been in development for more than 18 months after first being presented by Promethean research scientists during CHEMUK 2019. The products have now been fully commercialised and will be available to buy via the company’s online store soon.
With global industrialisation and population growth, demand for energy has increased driving CO2 generation which contributes to the issue of global warming. MOF technology provides a wholly efficient process to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and regenerate it for conversion into value added products, including chemical fuels and industrial raw materials.
Dr Selina Ambrose, Technical Manager at Promethean, said: “While MOFs can be crucial to successful CO2 capture, there are two key limitations which have curtailed industrial realisation; one is the lack of scaled supply and second, as a result of this, is the associated cost.
“Promethean has developed a new and unique process to manufacture MOFs, enabled by our large-scale plant capabilities. Many manufacturers are only able to produce small volumes at any one time today and are therefore not achieving economies of scale. Add to this, raw materials used in the manufacture of MOFs tend to be niche, which only serves to push the cost even higher.”
Dr Ambrose continued: “Our Nottingham site is home to the world’s largest continuous multi-material nanoparticle manufacturing plant meaning we can produce tonnes instead of kilograms of material. With scaled up production, the cost per unit comes down significantly to somewhere between £500-£2,500 per kilo, depending on the specific MOF; significantly lower than the current market figure of anything up to £50,000 per kilo.
“Importantly, the properties and performance of the MOFs we manufacture are comparable or better than those already on the market. Furthermore, we believe that as demand increases for our products, we can reduce the costs even further.”
The new MOFs complement the existing range developed by Promethean that can be used for a wide range of applications including hydrogen storage, water purification, gas storage and catalysis, as well as CO2 adsorption. The Promethean suite of products will be showcased at this year’s CHEMUK 2020, held May 13-14, 2020, at Event City, Manchester, UK. For visitors to the expo, Promethean will be on stand E11.
The Nottingham-based company announced in November 2019 news of a significant £749,000 growth capital investment by Foresight Group using finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund; this was part of a total investment round of £1.25M. The cash injection is enabling Promethean to continue research into critical global issues and extend its reach and impact on the MOF market by offering products that address both current and future industry demands on a large scale and importantly at a competitive cost.