TurnCO2 utilizes bleeding-edge CO2 capture materials called “metal-organic frameworks”, or “MOFs” for short, as molecular sponges to soak up your CO2.
The MOF is scalable, hydrophobic, and can utilize wet waste heat (steam) to remove the CO2 + regenerate the MOF for further use.
Our Technology
The phrase “nature abhors a vacuum” describes our core separation technology- called “Adsorption” - it is a weak inter-molecular force that is present between gases and every surface of every solid. These weak forces are much easier to break than the strong chemical bonds created in traditional liquid amine-based CO2 capture- at it’s core adsorption is a mature technology that has been used industrially for 7+ decades. MOFs are a unique type of porous solid material from the subfield of “supra-molecular” chemistry - or the chemistry of creating repeating networks or frameworks of molecules.
source: Nick’s childhood K’nex set
1) The properties of the starting materials can carryover to the MOF- any rigid angles from the metals or ligands will help dictate the topology formed.
2) Using the right synthetic conditions (time, temperature, pressure, solvent, etc.), we can control the inter-molecular forces present to transform the material into our MOF.
3) Once any solvent is removed from the pore, we can put something else in it, like CO2! The modern chemical library is so large that there are near-infinite combinations here and each structure will have its own unique properties. It’s not just the material but how you use it that matters!
Science is meant to be understood, not just believed, and TurnCO2 wants to challenge every climate start up to find the ideal children’s toy to explain their technology…