Meet “Movs”, intelligent particles that can help stop global warming – BBC News Thailand

A company that researches and develops technology to solve the problems of global climate change, “Promethean Particles” in the United Kingdom. We received an investment worth 8 million pounds, or about 360 million baht, to support mass production of microscopic smart particles. We can program these particles to absorb and store greenhouse gases at will.

The company’s head office is in Nottingham. A material called “Metal-Organic Frameworks” or “MOFs”, nanometer-sized particles But it is full of pores, giving an extremely large internal surface area and a high absorption capacity. One teaspoon of Movs granules has an internal surface area equal to two tennis courts.

Promethean Particles hopes to be able to use this new funding. To build a larger smart particle production facility and expand the production team The funding comes from two venture capital firms, Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures.

The company also aims to reduce the price of Movs grains. Before that it was as high as tens of thousands of pounds per kilogram. Only 25 pounds or about 1,120 baht per kilogram.

The key to reducing costs and producing Movs particles in large quantities at an industrial level That is, using raw materials from cheap minerals and metals that are commonly found. such as zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg).

James Stephenson, CEO of Promethean Particles, said: “Movs are one of a kind wonder materials that have shown their potential to be used in a variety of applications.”

The surface area within the grain structure is Movs Can undergo laboratory engineering changes To have “turbidity” or the ability to adhere to many types of gas molecules. in use It can be used both as an absorbent sponge and as a micro sieve. Separate and store many types of gases at the same time in large quantities.

Amazing properties of pieces of movs It can be applied to reduce the impact of various industries on the global climate. For example, it helps absorb carbon and greenhouse gases from the production of cement, metals, and electrical energy. Currently, these industries are still emitting such gases in large quantities.

Sally Bowman, the BBC’s environment correspondent, said: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a solution that has long been proposed to the UK authorities. It is an important process that must be included in the national plan. Aiming for carbon neutrality in the future.

There is such a concept Carbon dioxide is released by industries that consume high levels of energy. It will be captured before it rises up to collect in the earth’s atmosphere. and will be kept in a permanent storage facility deep underground.

However, today CCS processes are still considered expensive and energy intensive. As a result, no major CCS project has yet occurred. As for critics, they said that this project may not be worthwhile. It also attracts people’s attention. Give up and ignore more urgent measures to reduce carbon emissions.

At first, experts were excited about Movs particles have the ability to absorb greenhouse gases at the source in factories and then store them in a form that is easy to transport. But its high price is still a big obstacle. and if it is reduced to just a fraction of the current price It will be considered very good news for our rapidly warming world.

The CEO of Promethean Particles said that such environmental challenges exist This is what led him and his team to accelerate the development of intelligent particles. “We see it as the whole world sees it. Carbon sequestration is key to solving the problem. Carbon capture technology available now Energy consumption still faces significant challenges. So we are committed to this mission. and continuing to make a difference to help solve global problems to some extent.”

Selina Ambrose, Product Manager at Promethean Particles said: “In addition to the projects we are already working on, movs particles can be developed and produced on an industrial scale. To be useful in many other ways. We plan to add researchers and engineers to the production team. To show the world that Of course, Movs particles can do a lot more things. “