Dr John Zhu, School of Engineering

Dr John Zhu

A novel technology to trap large-scale greenhouse gas emissions caused by coal mining and power generation is being developed by a UQ researcher.

Dr John Zhu, Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering, aims to develop a carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane for gas separation that will work like a sieve to separate high volumes of methane or carbon dioxide from other gases.

Dr Zhu has received an $85,000 UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award to advance this important research into clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction.

Dr Zhu said that the CNT technology was exciting because it would trap gases moving up to 100 times faster than other gas separation techniques and could therefore be used by large-scale plants such as power stations.

“Conventional membranes such as polymeric and metal membranes, porous silica and carbon molecular sieves all show a trade-off between how well they separate gases and how much gas they can process,” he said.

“The CNT membranes can both separate effectively and process large volumes of gas, making them superior to conventional membranes at the large scale required for coalfired power plants or natural gas processing.

Dr Zhu said he was both pleased and grateful that his research was being recognised by the University with the award, and for the opportunity to advance research in an area so critical to the future health of the planet.

“I have been concerned about humankind’s impact on the environment for many years. It is imperative that we reduce greenhouse emissions. I hope the CNT membrane will help to achieve that,” Dr Zhu said.

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