Patent ID: 11938460
Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH—OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC B  C | IPC B  C

Claim 11:
12. A method of capturing condensable gas or vapor from an ambient atmosphere source or a gas or a vapor stream, comprising:
preparing a composite, comprising:
obtaining a hydrophilic matrix;
embedding or immersing a hydrophilic solid material in the hydrophilic matrix, forming one or more contact spots for condensation;
embedding in the hydrophilic matrix a porogenic material having a larger size than the hydrophilic solid material; and
selectively removing at least a portion of the porogenic material to form a hierarchically porous matrix with pore spaces;

absorbing the condensable gas or vapor in the one or more contact spots and condensing to form condensed gas or vapor;
storing the condensed gas or vapor in the hydrophilic matrix and/or the pore spaces in the hierarchically porous matrix; and
extracting the condensed gas or vapor from the composite.