Title: Evaluating Porous Materials for Carbon Capture Under Realistic Conditions  

  Speaker: Lisa Mingzhe Sun (Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham / Associate Editor of Carbon Capture Science & Technology / Founder of LiSir Global Solutions Ltd.)  

  Host: Associate Professor Zhou Xin  

  Time: 15:00–16:30, Wednesday, August 20, 2025  

  Venue: Room 105, Yifu Engineering Building, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering  

  Organizer: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering  

Abstract:  

  Solid sorbents such as zeolites, MOFs, and finely divided metal oxides are among the most promising materials for carbon capture, both from direct air capture (DAC) systems and industrial point sources. However, translating laboratory results into practical applications requires a comprehensive evaluation of sorbent performance under realistic process conditions. Key factors include the sorbent’s CO₂ affinity across a wide concentration range (from 400 ppm to pure CO₂), its regeneration potential, thermal properties, and long-term cyclic stability. A major challenge in real-world applications is the presence of water vapor (in both DAC and point sources), which can compete with CO₂ for adsorption sites, potentially reducing capacity and selectivity.

Therefore, a realistic evaluation must assess not only the CO₂ adsorption capacity but also the sorbent’s behavior in the presence of competing species, its regenerability, and its performance over multiple adsorption-desorption cycles. In this work, we demonstrate the use of gravimetric analysis and breakthrough experiments to evaluate these properties in three materials: Zeolite 13X, a representative MOF, and Lewatit VP OC 1065.

Speaker Biography: 

  Lisa Mingzhe Sun received her PhD from the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong, followed by postdoctoral research at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. During this time, she published over 30 peer-reviewed papers, including 13 as first author, in the field of porous materials for gas adsorption and separation. She worked as a Scientist at Surface Measurement Systems in the UK from 2023 to 2025. Currently serving as Associate Editor of *Carbon Capture Science & Technology* (Elsevier & IChemE, Impact Factor: 10.4) and founder of a self-employed consultancy, she has successfully coordinated multidisciplinary teams and contributed to international collaborations.