Dr Greg Alexander Mutch - Newcastle University

 Research Fellowships 2020

Dr Greg Mutch currently leads a team of researchers at Newcastle University, working on gas separation processes, typically applied to carbon dioxide capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS). Most of the team is focused on developing supported molten-salt membranes, a class of membrane with significant promise for CCUS that offer an unparalleled combination of high permeability and high selectivity.

Normally, there is a trade-off between permeability and selectivity in membranes, however, in supported molten-salt membranes, permeability can be increased without decreasing selectivity. This can be achieved by modifying membrane composition, membrane geometry, and operating conditions. The team employs a workflow that spans the molecular, such as simulating the chemical mechanisms leading to carbon dioxide separation to the system scale, such as fabrication techniques to produce membranes with high-quality seals and high permeability membrane geometry.

In several bench-scale reactors, the team have developed new gas separation and reaction engineering processes. This includes one where precise control over humidity is possible - this is a unique and important capability, as humidity plays a key role in several classes of membranes for CCUS. During, and following, operation, membranes and their reactors are characterised to understand their separation performance and to attempt to prevent any damaging processes that may occur over long timescales.

Most recently, Dr Mutch has started to work on direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide. This has involved work on membranes, but also sorbents, where miniaturised 3-D printed reactors are used to rapidly screen a variety of reactor geometries and sorbent materials. In this area, Dr Mutch also collaborates with energy systems experts on geospatial modelling related to the sizing and siting of DAC processes. Overall, Dr Mutch’s work spans the molecular to system scale, and seeks to provide the new, more efficient carbon dioxide separation processes required for a net-zero economy.

Personal website: Staff Profile | School of Engineering | Newcastle University (ncl.ac.uk) 

LinkedIn: Greg A. Mutch - Discipline Lead for Research (Chemical Engineering) - Newcastle University

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