▎ACHIEVEMENTS

As carbon dioxide (CO2) significantly contributes to global warming and climate change, urgent efforts are underway worldwide to develop carbon reduction and negative carbon technologies. In response, five National Taiwan University (NTU) professors-- Dun-Yen Kang, Hao-Ming Chen, Chia-Wen Wu, Hsiu-Po Kuo, and Bor-Yi Yu—formed the NTU ZERO team to address this challenge. Through their collaborative efforts, NTU ZERO has pioneered innovative carbon capture and utilization technologies with potential for substantial industrial-scale applications.

The NTU ZERO team’s mission is to collaboratively research and develop carbon capture and material technologies that enhance CO2 capture efficiency. Prof. Chia-Wen Wu has developed cutting-edge ultramicroporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that selectively absorb CO2 from flue gas components, such as nitrogen, water vapor, and CO2, through the nanoscale cavities in these MOFs. Professor Hsiu-Po Kuo applies powder and chemical unit operation techniques to fabricate MOF adsorbents into tubular forms and has developed mixed gas adsorption devices to test CO2 capture efficiency. Professor Dun-Yen Kang has integrated MOF materials with polymers to produce membrane forms that can selectively remove CO2 from flue gas mixtures under continuous airflow conditions, without requiring thermal regeneration. According to the team’s calculations, this membrane-based carbon capture technology could improve CO2 capture efficiency from 60% to around 90%, reducing the additional emissions from each kilogram of CO2 captured to just 0.1 kilograms.

In terms of CO2 reuse, Prof. Hao-Ming Chen has developed a high-efficiency electrochemical process that converts CO2 into valuable products, including syngas, formic acid, ethanol, and ethylene—upstream chemical products with negative carbon footprints. This process not only reuses CO2, which would otherwise be considered waste; it also addresses carbon emissions while generating economic value. It thus offers a sustainable solution to mitigate treatment costs and create new markets for negative-carbon chemicals.

Additionally, Prof. Hao-Ming Chen has developed an industrial-scale facility for converting CO2 into formic acid using electrochemical methods. The system features programmable automatic controls to regulate process conditions and integrates mechatronic human-machine interfaces. This system scales up small laboratory modules to industrial applications, with a low-energy, high-value anode system that reduces energy consumption to just 60% of traditional electrochemical methods, improving the commercial feasibility of the technology. The industrial prototype can currently process up to 50 kilograms of CO2 per day.

NTU ZERO stands at the forefront of global efforts to transform carbon capture and reuse technologies. The team’s collaborative innovations have the potential to significantly improve CO2 capture efficiency while developing sustainable practices for effective carbon emissions management. By offering industrial-scale applications and economically viable processes, their cutting-edge technological innovations hold promise to make a significant contribution to the existential challenge of combating climate change and promoting a zero-emission future.