Kok (James) Chean Lai

About Kok (James) Chean Lai

Affiliation
Technical University of Denmark

Innovandi Project
Core Project 2: Post-combustion electrochemical CO2 capture (ECC) for cement plants

Background
Bachelor’s degree in Chemical-Bioprocess Engineering from the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM). Dual Master of Science in Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China.

Research topic
My research focuses on CO₂ capture using a potassium hydroxide (KOH) solvent in an absorption column, coupled with electrochemical solvent regeneration through electrodialysis in an electrochemical cell (ECC). The ECC is equipped with various pairs of bipolar membranes (BPM) and cation exchange membranes (CEM) to facilitate ion separation and solvent recovery. This approach is designed for the treatment of post-combustion flue gas from cement plants. A key challenge in this CO₂ capture technology is minimizing energy consumption, which is influenced by solvent efficiency, CEM performance, and the overpotential required for BPM operation.To address these challenges, I am investigating the trade-off between CO₂ capture efficiency and solvent efficiency (carbon loading), while exploring different ECC process configurations to enhance overall performance. Through process optimization, my goal is to reduce the energy consumption to approximately 2 GJ per ton of CO₂ captured.Additionally, I am analyzing the impact of impurities such as SO₂ on solvent stability and regeneration efficiency, as well as assessing the effects of washing procedures and the long-term influence of these contaminants on system performance. Through this research, I aim to contribute to the development of more sustainable and scalable electrochemical CO₂ capture technologies for industrial applications.