Liquid Ion Solutions LLC, in partnership with Penn State University and Carbon Capture Scientific, will develop and validate a transformational hybrid membrane/solvent system for the capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from flue gas. The project will build on work previously conducted by Liquid Ion Solutions in mixed-matrix membrane (MMM) development, Penn State in polymer synthesis and property optimization, and Carbon Capture Scientific in solvent systems. The hybrid technology is a two-stage CO₂ capture system combining a membrane separation process and an absorption/stripping process with heat integration between the absorption column and stripping column through a heat pump cycle. Process air is used to sweep the stripper resulting in much lower regeneration temperatures and enabling heat integration to the point that no process steam is required. To reduce capital cost, a next-generation membrane technology with higher permeance will be developed. The interfacially-controlled envelope (ICE) membrane will make use of a transport zone neglected in conventional MMMs. By carefully controlling the interface between the polymer and inorganic particles within the MMM, CO₂ transport will be encouraged and nitrogen transport diminished in the gap between the two phases. Since permeance is directly tied to membrane area and capital cost, the development of the ICE membranes will reduce the capital cost of the hybrid process below that of the baseline technologies. The research team will combine computer simulation with lab-scale experimentation using simulated flue gas to develop, optimize, and test ICE membranes, test the absorption column and air stripper, and complete a techno-economic analysis of the hybrid technology.