BASF, CogniTek sign joint development agreement for creation of high efficiency heat exchange utilizing ionic liquids

* Supercritical carbon dioxide and ionic liquids
* High efficiency heat pumps and power generation for example from waste heat


FLORHAM PARK, NJ, NORTHFIELD, IL.- BASF Corporation and CogniTek Management Systems, Inc., announced today that they have signed a cooperation agreement to examine whether the combined use of supercritical carbon dioxide and ionic liquids gives rise to particularly efficient ways of using low temperature heat sources for power generation.

The attraction for this effort is belief that a process employing the unique properties of supercritical carbon dioxide and ionic liquids could transform low quality heat having comparatively low temperatures including solar, geothermal, combustion waste heat, and bottom cycling of existing power plants, into high value power generation. The result would be a combined power generation system with integral heating and cooling co-products capable of saving substantial amounts of energy.

“Ionic liquids are the perfect partner for super-critical carbon dioxide as the working fluid for high efficiency heat transfer, said Dr. Megan Turner, Business Development Manager of the BASF Intermediates New Business Development unit in North America. “Nonvolatile, ionic liquids possess extraordinary physical properties that provide great efficiency.”

“Today’s rising energy costs dramatically increase the importance of energy conversion efficiency and thermal waste heat recovery, said Michael Gurin, Founder of CogniTek and President of Rexorce Thermionics, Inc. Rexorce is commercializing the Thermafficient™ thermal engine, which is based on the NASA licensed absorption heat pump. “By taking advantage of the unique properties of ionic liquids and supercritical carbon dioxide, we believe that with the next generation system we will be able to achieve higher power generation efficiencies and/or superior returns on capital.”

Ionic liquids are a relatively new class of attractive high performance liquids that typically are not flammable, do not evaporate and exhibit high thermal stability. As the first company to utilize ionic liquids in a commercial scale operation, BASF is a global leader in technology solutions that take advantage of the unique characteristics of ionic liquids, including providing access to its proprietary commercial scale BASIL™ technology that can be used for cellulose (Cellionic™) and metal processing, metal plating, extractive distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, acid scavenging and acid catalysis. BASF provides ionic liquids in gram to ton quantities with its Basionic™ portfolio.