study abroad worksheet

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

Studying abroad.

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

Type of English: General English

Tags: IELTS education, teaching, and learning travel and leisure giving opinions 13-15 years old 16-18 years old

Publication date: 10/17/2022

In this lesson, students develop their writing skills in the context of studying abroad. They start by completing a set of sentence prompts to personalise and engage with the topic and then read a Part 1 task and response to identify key features and language. They then focus on functional exponents to ask for and give advice. Before completing their own Part 1 task, students complete a categorising activity to differentiate between informal opening and closing phrases.

by Victoria Aitken

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Student worksheet

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In this lesson, students develop their writing skills in the context of studying abroad. They start by completing a set of sentence prompts to personalize and engage with the topic and then read a Part 1 task and response to identify key features and language. They then focus on functional exponents to ask for and give advice. Before completing their own Part 1 task, students complete a categorizing activity to differentiate between informal opening and closing phrases.

COURSE PLANS

This comprehensive course plan covers the full range of language needs – listening, role play, vocabulary development.

Worksheets in IELTS General course plan

Type of English: General English Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

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Office of International Eduction

Office of international education.

• Getting Started
• Academics and Study Abroad
• Types of Programs
• Health and Safety Abroad
• Before Departure

Study Abroad Forms

• Parent Resources
• Returning from Study Abroad
• Pre-Departure Guidebook
• Travel Study Guide for Faculty
• Our Services
• Prospective Students
• Accepted Students
• Current Students
• Incoming Exchange
• International Parents
• Faculty & Staff Resources
• International Scholar Services
• Prospective Scholars/Visitors
• Current Scholars/Visitors
• Hiring/Hosting Departments
• Meet the OIE Staff

Below are links to all the necessary forms required for students to be approved to study abroad, via the UVM study abroad approval process in GoAbroad . Your GoAbroad checklist will guide you through your requirements, and will direct you to this page when necessary. 

Academic Planning Forms (for students in pre-decision phase of GoAbroad)

These are the Academic Planning Forms required for the "Meet with your Academic Advisor" form in GoAbroad . Please choose the worksheet for your college and bring it to your academic advisor. Then follow the directions on the worksheet detailing where you should turn it in. 

• CALS advising form (PDF)
• CAS advising form (PDF)
• GSB advising form (PDF)
• CESS advising form (PDF)
• CEMS advising form (PDF)
• RSENR advising form (PDF)
• CNHS advising form (PDF)

Budget Sheet Templates

In the post-acceptance phase of GoAbroad, depending on your study abroad program and financial aid package, you may be required to make a budget sheet and submit it to Student Financial Services  in order to transfer your aid to your study abroad program. SFS will contact you at your UVM email address to tell you if they need a budget sheet from you. 

• If you are participating in an Exchange, ISEP Direct, UVM Semester, or Direct-Enroll program, OIE will make your budget sheet for you and give it directly to SFS. SFS will then email you with next steps.

If you are participating in an approved  External program run by an approved program provider, you will make your own budget sheet using one of the templates below. You can find guidance for completing your budget sheet here . If you have questions while you are creating your budget sheet, you can register for a Post-Acceptance Advising appointment, offered several times before the May 1 due date ( see our Calendar to find out when the next Post Acceptance Advising session is ).

• note: if you are completing two consecutive semesters on two different study abroad programs, you will need to make two different budget sheets using the semester-long template above instead of using the academic year-long template.

If you are required to submit a budget sheet to Student Financial Services, you will meet with a SFS advisor and go over how your specific financial aid package will fit into your study abroad plans. To find out more about how financial aid is affected by study abroad and what forms of aid are applicable to which types of programs, please see our Finances page .

Study Abroad Course Planning Worksheet

The Study Abroad Course Planning Worksheet (Word)  can be completed by students after they have been accepted into their program, but before they meet with their academic advisor for final approval to study abroad. It is a helpful worksheet to help you plan out what courses you will take abroad.

Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Forms (for students in post-acceptance phase of GoAbroad)

Students are required to meet with their faculty or staff academic advisor in the post-acceptance phase of GoAbroad to discuss eligibility requirements and the types of classes the student plans to take while abroad, and to complete a Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form. Please follow the directions in your GoAbroad account that pertain to your college, each college's process is slightly different . The links to your college's Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form are in GoAbroad, but you can also find them here.

• CALS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (Word)
• CALS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (PDF)
• CAS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (Word)
• CAS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (PDF)
• CESS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (Word)
• CESS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (PDF)
• CEMS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (Word)
• CEMS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (PDF)
• CNHS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (Word)
• CNHS Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (PDF)
• GSB Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (PDF)
• RSENR Faculty/Staff Advisor Study Abroad Approval Form (PDF)

The Study Abroad Pre-Departure Guidebook

All students studying abroad through the Office of International Education must read the Study Abroad Pre-Departure Guidebook . It is a comprehensive guide broken into eight sections, and is designed to prepare you to have a successful study abroad experience. In GoAbroad's post-acceptance checklist, students are required to sign a document stating that they have read it in full. They will also be required to take a quiz that covers its contents, and must pass with a 92% or better in order to study abroad.

Other Study Abroad Forms and Links:

• Program Types Grid (PDF)
• Study Abroad Process Timeline Handout (PDF)
• Personal Emergency Action Plan (PDF)

Undergraduate Study Abroad

• Before You Apply
• Financial Planning

Knowing the non-tuition fees and estimated on-site costs for your program will help you determine whether your semester abroad will cost less or more than a semester on campus.

Semester and year-long students pay Brown tuition and Student Resources fee and pay any non-tuition program fees, like room and board, to their program. Knowing the non-tuition fees and estimated on-site costs for your program will help you determine whether your semester abroad will cost less or more than a semester on campus.

When researching your overall program costs, items to keep in mind include:

• books/supplies
• local transportation
• health insurance
• passport, visa, and residency permit expenses
• vaccines and inoculations (if required by program) and other health care costs
• personal living expenses (including cell phone)
• personal travel
• storage costs for your belongings back at Brown

All Brown students eligible for financial aid (with few exceptions) may use their aid for an approved program of semester or year-long study abroad. For summer programs, most forms of financial aid do not apply.

Learning how to budget your money while abroad will take some time and careful observation. Study Abroad peer advisors and other returned students are good resources for information and advice on how to manage your finances abroad.

• For your budgeting, it’s important to have a good understanding of what your cost of attendance will be for your study abroad program. Your cost of attendance includes Brown tuition and Student Resources Fee (billed to your student account), non-tuition charges (payable to your study abroad program/host university), and all travel-related (e.g. passport, visa, airfare, etc.) and on-site expenses. We recommend looking at the Brown cost of attendance so you can compare a semester on campus compared to study abroad. The Study Abroad Budget Worksheet (accessible on the Office of Financial Aid website under Forms ) is available to help you calculate your expenses abroad and in determining out-of-pocket expenses. If your study abroad cost of attendance is greater, you may want to consider applying for outside scholarships or loans to help cover any additional costs. If there is any concern about covering upfront expenses, such as airfare, visa, and/or deposit for your semester(s) abroad, contact the Office of Financial Aid as soon as possible. 
• A great way to research and estimate costs for specific programs is to ask your study abroad advisor for names of students who studied on that particular program and speak directly with them. 
• Have a budget and know what you can spend. Keep a daily expense account the first couple of weeks to be able to plan a budget for your entire stay. 
• Factor in international fees for credit card and debit card transactions (check with your credit card company or bank for specific information on charges). International travel credit cards  carry no transaction fees.
• Keep an eye on the exchange rate. Try not to think in terms of dollars, although when you first arrive, it is expected. Never exchange money outside of official banks or exchange offices. You can check exchange rates and currency conversions at XE Currency Converter .
• You will probably spend more money on arrival than at any other point. Be prepared. You are still unfamiliar with where to find the best bargains and with the exchange rate.
• Know that some businesses may not accept debit/credit cards, ‘swipe’ credit cards, or credit cards without a PIN number.
• Look out for special rates and discounts wherever you go, and familiarize yourself with what is available in terms of youth or student discounts with your college/university ID, or consider purchasing an International Student Identity Card (ISIC) .
• When you travel, consider staying in youth or student hostels. Unlike hotels, which cater to tourists and business travelers, hostels are inexpensive, usually dorm-style hotels for young people found in many countries of the world.

Financial Aid

Airfare assistance.

Contact us at 713-348-5836 or [email protected] . Request advising | Study Abroad 101 | Events (OwlNest) | Program search

Budgeting Basics

Budget worksheet.

All students must complete a Budget Worksheet for their individual program, as part of the application for studying abroad. This worksheet will indicate both to our office and to the Office of Financial Aid your estimated cost of attendance at the institution abroad. Cost of attendance is calculated based on tuition and fees, room and board, travel, personal expenses, and books and supplies. Keep in mind that living costs abroad may be more or less expensive than those while at Rice, so cost will vary based on type of academic program, destination, length of program and other factors.

Please fill out the Budget Worksheet to the best of your knowledge and submit it by the application deadline as part of your Rice Study Abroad application. Your study abroad advisor can assist you if you have questions while filling out the worksheet.

Study abroad billing

All Rice students who study abroad will be charged a Student Activities Fee (for semester and academic year students only) and a Rice Enrollment Continuance Fee. These fees will be charged to the student's account by the Cashier's Office. For inquiries regarding student accounts, please contact the Cashier's Office. Rice Study Abroad does not charge an application fee.

Students studying via an exchange program at one of our partner institutions will pay Rice tuition just as they would if they were studying on campus, and will be billed accordingly. All other fees will be paid directly to the host institution.

Students studying on direct enrollment or third-party provider programs will pay the host university/program provider directly for tuition and all fees, and will not pay tuition, room and board to Rice. Keep in mind you will be responsible for some payments ahead of your program such as a deposit, roundtrip airfare, and any visa fees. Note your deposit is not an additional cost, rather the first payment for your program (typically non-refundable) to confirm your commitment. Please consult the specific program for fees and billing details.

Study abroad budget templates: Plan and monitor your expenses

The budget for a study abroad experience is one of the most important factors for every student. There are many factors influencing the costs. With my study abroad budget template you cover them all!

Studying abroad is something you will very likely find on top of every student’s bucket list. Fair enough! It is a great chance to enhance your education, meet new people and travel the world.

In case you are not yet 100% conviced, you find the top 5 reasons why you should study abroad here .

Anyway, one big hurdle for realising the study abroad dream is the required budget. Spoiler alert: in this post I will not provide the ultimate sum of how much your study abroad will cost you in the end. This depends on too many different factors:

• Price levels of your chosen destination
• Sought lifestyle / expectations on traveling and living (dorms vs. private rooms)
• Distance from your home country
• Duration of your abroad studies
• your „home“ university
• local associations
• a community or international programme, like Erasmus in Europe

In either case it is important that you plan your budget thoroughly in advance.

On one hand you need to take into account the above mentioned key influencers on your budget, which have to be observed individually.  On the other hand your calculation is influenced by different types of costs, which are the same for every student. These include for instance:

• accommodation
• transportation
• fixed costs at home

For these types of cost I put together a calculation sheet, which I used myself for planning and monitoring my study abroad budget (I spent 5 months in New Zealand). I am happy to share this template with you to make your life a little easier.

I attached two templates in an user-friendly excel format: An empty one as well as my own budget sheet for New Zealand, where you can see and overwrite a completed calculation.

Just click on the pictures to download the excel sheets:

How to use the templates?

1. Fill the yellow spaces in the header for your personal overview

• Where do you go?
• When do you go?
• What is the exchange rate? (fill in „1“ if you calculate in your own currency)
• What is your planned budget in total?

2. Differentiate your costs in travel related and study related costs

Fill the yellow spaces with your budgets (either in your own or destination’s currency)

• one-shot fees (eg. flights, vaccinations) vs.
• recurring costs (eg. rent, insurance, food shopping)

3. Give a status „outstanding“ or „paid“ to your budgets

If you are in a very rough planning and estimation stage you can also use the placeholder „-„. Otherwise you will find an overview of open and settled payments in the header.

4. Delete rows you do not need or add new ones in case you identify additional costs

Attention: if you do so please check the underlaying formulas.

5. Get an overview of total budgets

You will get an overview of the automatically calculated overall budget, separated in following sections:

• traveling vs. studying
• open vs. settled
• planned vs. actual

In case you have any detail questions or need an adapted version please just leave me a comment.

I am looking forward to comments of any study abroad students out there: What are your key take aways regarding budgets and costs? Did you stick to your planned budget? Did you face unexpected costs?

If you are interested in sharing your experience with My Travel Emotion’s readers please also leave a comment. My study abroad section shall grow over time with more and more impressions and stories of study abroad programmes all over the world.

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University of Missouri

Study abroad.

International Programs

Fund your international experience

Program costs are an important factor in choosing a program abroad. You will find a considerable range in costs between programs. For each Mizzou Study Abroad program, estimated budgets are available on the costs tab of each program page .

Don’t let financial limitations deter you from studying abroad. There are several sources of funding you should consider.

Scholarships

Scholarships for study abroad are available through on- and off-campus resources.

Financial aid

If you are participating on an MU-sponsored program, you should be able to use most of your federal, state, institutional or private financial aid to help cover the cost of studying abroad. If you plan to apply financial aid to your program cost, you must work with your adviser in the Office of Student Financial Aid and fill out all of the necessary paperwork.

Forms must be filled out by the specified deadlines to ensure that you will continue to receive your financial aid while abroad. If you begin this process early enough, Student Financial Aid can re-evaluate your need and you may be eligible for additional loans or grants.

Visiting students are not eligible for financial aid or scholarships from MU. You should work with your home university’s study abroad and financial aid offices to research your options.

Financial planning worksheet

After you have started an application for a Mizzou Study Abroad program, your study abroad adviser will complete the financial planning worksheet in your application. This worksheet outlines the anticipated expenses for your program, including airfare, visas and health insurance.

The  Office of Student Financial Aid  can also access your financial planning worksheet, which they will use to evaluate your aid eligibility for your term abroad. You are responsible for meeting with a financial aid adviser to discuss your options.

The way tuition is billed depends on your program. Review your program ‘s costs tab and your financial planning worksheet carefully to understand how tuition will be billed for your program. Note that the tuition for some short-term faculty-led programs is included in the fall or spring 12–18 hour semester plateau rate for most undergraduate students.

Veterans receiving educational assistance through the Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI bills may use their benefits to help cover the cost of studying abroad. You will work closely with the  MU Student Veterans Resource and Support Center  and your study abroad adviser to find a program that fits your goals and the  VA requirements .

Office for Financial Success

Need help with financial planning for your study abroad experience? Schedule a one-on-one consultation with the Office for Financial Success.

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• Punctuation /

Speech Mark Examples for Grade 1, 2, & 3 in English [with Worksheet PDF]

• Updated on  
• Apr 27, 2024

Speech mark examples or you can say examples of quotation marks are quite helpful when it comes to mastering the trickiness of punctuation without cramming its definition and usage rules. But once you learn what speech marks are with the help of instances; you can easily quote anyone’s speech, famous saying, or universal truths word to word in writing. So, without further ado, let’s explore this blog about speech mark punctuation for kids through examples and practice exercises. 

[powerkit_toc title=”This Blog Includes:”]

Know all about Punctuation  

Speech Mark Examples for Grade 1

To comprehend speech marks, think of them as tiny bubbles around what someone says. They show you the exact words spoken by a character in a sentence. But instead of a bubble, it follows a double inverted comma (“ ”) symbol to highlight the exact words of a speaker in written form. Take a look at the following examples of Speech marks for reference: 

• Simple Sentence: He Said, “I do not like her.”
• Questions: “Do you not like her?” asked the girl.

Here are some more examples you can go through and analyse the use of punctuation for class 1 kids.

Also Read: Punctuation for Class 1

Speech Mark Examples for Grade 2

As a kid progresses to Grade 2, they can explore more complex sentences and dialogues to master the usage of speech marks like the one mentioned below:

Also Read: Punctuation for Class 2

Speech Mark Examples for Grade 3 

You must note that the functioning of quotation marks remains the same regardless of the grade level. The only challenge you will face will be the complexity of sentences. So, going through the more challenging examples will further enhance your understanding of speech marks: 

Also Read: Punctuation for Class 3

Speech Mark Worksheet with Answer PDF

Speech marks, also sometimes called quotation marks, are punctuation symbols used in writing to show the exact words spoken by a character or person in a sentence. They act like little quotation bubbles, enclosing the specific dialogue being spoken. For example, “Hello,” she greeted me warmly. 

Here’s how to put words in speech marks also called quotation marks: 1. Identify the spoken words. 2. Before the spoken words, insert the opening quotation marks.   3. Place all the spoken words within the quotation marks. This includes questions, exclamations, and even internal monologues. 4. After the spoken words, add the closing quotation mark (” or ”).

The example sentences for speech marks are “Ouch!” he cried, grabbing his foot. “Are you sure?”

Find more Punctuational Reads Below!

This was all about the speech mark examples and related information. Hope you understand the concept and know how to proceed. You can also follow the page of Learn English on Leverage Edu website for more exciting and informative blogs.

Harshita is a creative writer cum literature enthusiast in pursuit to extend her learnings of overseas and Indian education sectors to the masses, through her well-curated articles. You may also find her emerging in prose writing or reading Toni Morrison when not writing stuff related to education.

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Study Abroad and International Programs

Study Abroad and International Programs is a part of the Academic Enrichment Office of the Student Success Center and supports students and faculty as they engage in international and intercultural academic experiences. Bellarmine University offers a variety of international experiences both on-campus and abroad that are catered towards individual student needs.

Current Students

There are many different opportunities for study abroad at Bellarmine. To learn more about them please connect with our office. Here is the typical process that students follow learn more about and begin the study abroad process

• Fill out an interest form
• Attend an informational session
• Meet with a Study Abroad Advisor 
• Discuss academic plan with Professional or Faculty Advisor
• Select a program
• Complete the Bellarmine study abroad application
• Complete program or partner university application
• Prepare to go abroad
• Experience Study Abroad 

Applying for study abroad takes forward planning. Please be aware of important deadlines.

The Bellarmine Application for Study Abroad is due at the following times:

• Winter Study Abroad: Due September 5
• Summer Study Abroad:  Due December 15 for the following summer 
• Semester/Year Study Abroad: Due November 1 for the following school year 

Partner Universities and Organizations  

If you are a staff or faculty member from one of our partner institutions or organizations, please  email  Mary Grandinetti, Director of Study Abroad and International Programs, with any questions or inquires.

Nomination Deadlines:

Fall Semester Study at Bellarmine (August to December): Nominate by March 1 Academic Year Study at Bellarmine (August to May): Nominate by March 1 We are not currently accepting exchange students with a Spring (January) start date. 

Contact us at [email protected]

Mary Grandinetti Director of Study Abroad and International Programs [email protected] 502.272.7954

Kim Kerns Assistant Dean of Academic Enrichment [email protected] 502.272.8073 Kayla J. Martin Study Abroad & Student Success Center Project and Operations Coordinator [email protected] 502.272.8253 Ella Zoeller AmeriCorps College Coach [email protected] 

Kristen N. Wallitsch Dean of Student Success and International Programs [email protected]

Important Study Abroad and International Programs Policies and Procedures

• Bellarmine University does not currently fund, facilitate, recognize, or grant credit to students travelling/studying internationally in areas under a  U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory of Level 3 or 4 , a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Warning Level 3 or a  CDC COVID-19 Risk Assessment Level 4 .
• Bellarmine University reserves the right to cancel a study abroad program or retract approval for participation in a study abroad program due to travel warnings or advisories in advance of the anticipated travel.
• Students must meet with the Study Abroad and International Programs staff to complete the study abroad advisory process before studying abroad. If a student elects to study abroad without completing the study abroad advisory process Bellarmine may not accept their transfer credit. If a student elects to study abroad via a non-approved program after completing the study abroad advisory process, they will be required to take a leave of absence from Bellarmine.
• Students may not study abroad during the semester immediately preceding their graduation and must complete one semester at Bellarmine before they are eligible to study abroad on traditional short term or long term programs.
• Credit earned while studying abroad will not count towards a Bellarmine GPA.
• Credits earned during a study abroad experience could take up to six months from the date of completion to be transferred onto a Bellarmine student’s transcript. Bellarmine students who elect to study abroad accept that they may experience delays in receiving their transfer credits. Transfer credit is contingent on students completing the pre-approval documentation provided by the Study Abroad and International Programs Office and remaining in communication with the Study Abroad and International Programs Office until their credits are posted to their Bellarmine transcript.  

Students studying abroad with a Bellarmine program or through an approved program may be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 to be eligible to study abroad for short term programs (summer, winter, and spring break). Students with a cumulative GPA between 2.0 to 2.5 will need special approval to study abroad granted by the Study Abroad and International Programs Office.

Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to be eligible to study abroad for an academic semester or year. Students with a cumulative GPA between 2.5 and 3.0 will need special approval to study abroad granted by the Study Abroad and International Programs Office.

Many study abroad options have a higher GPA or other academic admissions requirements to consider.

Students who do not meet the GPA requirements will be required to complete additional application materials to demonstrate preparedness. The following criteria will be considered:

• Ability to articulate and understand how study abroad relates to their academic goals 
• The student’s plan for academic and personal success while abroad
• A commitment to working with a BU Student Success Coach prior to applying and leading up to study abroad experience
• Academic improvement in the semesters leading up to the application and time abroad
• References from faculty or Bellarmine professional staff 
• International Degree-Seeking & Exchange Students
• Bellarmine in India
• Virtual Tour

DON'T FORGET TO

• NC State Student
• Incoming First Year Student
• Incoming Exchange Student
• Program Director
• Academic Advisors/Departments
• Partner University
• Parents & Family
• Step by Step
• How to apply
• Study Abroad 101
• Choosing a Program
• Types of Programs
• Credit Abroad
• Before You Go
• After Study Abroad
• Understanding Costs
• Financial Aid
• NC State Scholarships
• Outside Funding
• Billing, Payments, and Fees
• Withdraw & Refund Policies
• Health & Safety
• Health & Safety Abroad
• Emergency Assistance
• International Health Insurance
• Restricted Travel Policy
• Alert Traveler App
• Connect With Us
• Study Abroad Stories
• PackAbroad Ambassadors
• Global Opportunities on Campus
• Subscribe to Our Newsletter
• Mission, Vision and Values
• Facts & Figures
• Student International Travel and Approval of Study Abroad
• Programs | Login
• Support Study Abroad 

Protected: Individual Advising

Individual advising appointments are required for students participating on semester or academic-year programs. Please make sure that you have completed Study Abroad 101 and your Advising Worksheet BEFORE making an appointment. Once you have completed those steps, please schedule an individual advising appointment with the appropriate study abroad advisor based on your major. Double majors - meet with the college advisor for the major in which you want to take the majority of your courses.

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College of Engineering

New approach could make reusing captured carbon far cheaper, less energy-intensive.

A team led by Marta Hatzell designed a new electrochemical reactor to seamlessly integrate into direct air capture systems and turn CO 2 into useful raw materials.

A new electrochemical reactor design developed with Marta Hatzell by postdoctoral scholar Hakhyeon Song (middle) and Ph.D. students Carlos Fernández and Po-Wei Huang (seated) converts carbon dioxide removed from the air into useful raw material. Their approach is cheaper and simpler while requiring less energy, making it a promising tool to improve the economics of direct air capture systems. (Photo: Candler Hobbs)

Engineers at Georgia Tech have designed a process that converts carbon dioxide removed from the air into useful raw material that could be used for new plastics, chemicals, or fuels.

Their approach dramatically reduces the cost and energy required for these direct air capture (DAC) systems, helping improve the economics of a process the researchers said will be critical to addressing climate change.

The key is a new kind of catalyst and electrochemical reactor design that can be easily integrated into existing DAC systems to produce useful carbon monoxide (CO) gas. It’s one of the most efficient such design ever described in scientific literature, according to lead researcher Marta Hatzell and her team. They published details April 16 in Energy and Environmental Science , a top journal for energy-related research.

“All of my team’s research projects focus on decarbonization, which I care about because of climate change, but this one in particular has the opportunity to make an impact and move toward commercialization more quickly,” said Hatzell, associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering . “That’s why publishing our work is important, to help get this technology out into the real world.”

Typically, the DAC process involves pulling carbon dioxide out of the air using some kind of chemical or material that wants to grab the CO 2 molecules. To release that captured carbon — to store it underground, for example, or process it for productive reuse — requires significant energy and complicated, expensive systems. Along the way, those systems usually lose some of the CO 2 , often only using half of the carbon they’ve removed from the air or less.

Hatzell’s team is focused on improving an approach that uses a liquid alkaline solution called KOH to capture the carbon in a DAC system. The KOH turns the gas CO 2 into bicarbonates, which eventually have to be separated again.

The Georgia Tech design avoids that expensive, energy-intensive step altogether.

Working with Jihun Oh’s lab at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, researchers created a new nickel-based catalyst and paired it with a bipolar membrane electrode assembly. Their setup uses electricity to extract CO 2 from the bicarbonates right next to the catalyst, which then converts it to carbon monoxide gas.

That’s the secret sauce of the system designed by Hatzell, postdoctoral scholar Hakhyeon Song, and Ph.D. students Carlos Fernández and Po-Wei Huang: It combines two steps into one.

“We're capturing the CO 2 into carbonates, which is a spontaneous process and doesn’t take much energy. And we’re getting rid of the desorption process and all of that energy expenditure,” Fernández said. “We save about 90% of the energy in the capture process, and about 50% of the capital cost.”

Their setup also is extremely efficient at using all of the CO 2 that moves through the reactor, according to Song. This is vastly better than systems that keep the carbon dioxide as a gas throughout the separation process.

The experimental setup researchers in Marta Hatzell’s lab used to test their new electrochemical reactor for carbon capture. (Photo: Candler Hobbs)

“We’re twice as efficient. Our CO 2 utilization efficiency is almost 70%, but the gas-phase system is 35%,” Song said. “The maximum CO 2 utilization in gas-based systems is theoretically 50%. But in our case, our maximum efficiency is 100%.”

In another important advance, the team’s catalyst works well in an acidic environment, which has been a limitation of existing systems using bipolar membranes. When the reactor layer with the catalyst turns acidic, another chemical process called a hydrogen evolution reaction occurs that competes with the reaction that reduces CO 2 to CO. The new nickel-based catalyst suppresses this interference.

Producing carbon monoxide from the CO 2 scrubbed from the air is a complicated, intensive process. But if done economically, the resulting raw material could be linked to existing chemical processes and turned into new useful products.

Making those connections is next on the team’s plate. CO can become the basis for plastics, important industrial chemicals like ethylene, and maybe even jet fuel one day.

“That's why we chose CO,” Fernández said. “Other products are harder to make, and CO is a good base for any carbon chemical. You can go from CO to almost anything through thermochemical processes.”

About the Research

Citation: Song, H., Fernandez, C. A., Choi, H., Huang, P. W., Oh, J., & Hatzell, M. C. (2024). Integrated carbon capture and CO production from bicarbonates through bipolar membrane electrolysis.  Energy & Environmental Science . https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EE00048J

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