Development of a Steel-Slag-Based, Iron-Functionalized Sorbent for an Autothermal Carbon Dioxide Capture Process

Application of iron and steel slags in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions: A review

The comprehensive consideration of climate warming and by-product management in the iron and steel industry, has a significant impact on the realization of environmental protection and green production. Blast furnace slag (BFS) and steel slag (SS), collectively called iron and steel slags, are the main by-products of steelmaking. The economical and efficient use of iron and steel slags to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is an urgent problem to be solved. This paper reviewed the carbonization and waste heat recovery of iron and steel slags, and the utilization of iron and steel slags as soil amendments, discussed their application status and limitations in GHG reduction. Iron and steel slags are rich in CaO, which can be used as CO₂ adsorbents to achieve a maximum concentration of 0.4-0.5 kg CO₂/kg SS. Blast furnace molten slag contains a considerable amount of waste heat, and thermal methods can recover more than 60 % of the heat energy. Chemical methods can use waste heat in the reaction to generate gas fuel, and iron in slags can be used as a catalytic component to promote chemical reaction. Waste heat recovery saves fuel and reduces the CO₂ emissions caused by combustion. When iron and steel slags are used as soil amendments, the iron oxides, alkaline substances, and SiO₂ in iron and steel slags can affect the emission of CH₄, N₂O, and CO₂ from soil, microorganisms, and crops, and achieve a maximum reduction of more than 60 % of the overall GHG of paddy fields. Finally, This paper provided valuable suggestions for future GHG reduction studies of iron and steel slags in energy, industry, and agriculture.

Defects of thin CaO(001) on Mo(001): an EPR spectroscopic perspective

Paramagnetic defects of thin CaO(001) films grown on Mo(001) are characterized using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. A variety of paramagnetic centers located in the volume of the films are identified whose speciation as well as relative abundance was found to depend on the growth rate of the films. Pristine films prepared at a lower growth rate exhibited a larger number and a different speciation of paramagnetic defects than films grown at a higher rate. Annealing of the films to 1030 K, which improves their long-range order, results in quenching of most of the paramagnetic species observed for the pristine film; however, films prepared at a lower growth rate exhibit new paramagnetic signals upon annealing, which are absent in films prepared at a higher growth rate. The signals can be assigned to paramagnetic Mo ions previously shown to diffuse into these films. These results indicate that the amount and speciation of the transition metal ions depend on the preparation conditions which in turn can also affect the surface chemistry of these systems.

Reversible Exsolution of Dopant Improves the Performance of Ca2Fe2O5 for Chemical Looping Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen (H₂) is a clean energy carrier and a major industrial feedstock, e.g., to produce ammonia and methanol. High-purity H₂ can be produced efficiently from methane (CH₄) using chemical looping-based approaches. In this work, we report on the development of a calcium-iron-based oxygen carrier (Ca₂Fe₂O₅) doped with Ni or Cu and investigate its redox performance for H₂ production when CH₄ is used as the fuel. The experimental results suggest that the rapid formation of metallic Ni or Cu through exsolution promotes the reducibility of Ca₂Fe₂O₅ with CH₄. It was found that the reversible exsolution of Ni or Cu nanoparticles and their reincorporation in the Ca₂Fe₂O₅ structure is key to avoid particle sintering and deactivation. Having the potential of converting a larger fraction of steam to H₂ than pure iron oxide in addition to its higher reactivity with CH₄, the doped calcium-iron-based oxygen carrier is a promising material for chemical looping H₂ production.

Solid-Waste-Derived Carbon Dioxide-Capturing Materials

Solid sorbents are considered to be promising materials for carbon dioxide capture. In recent years, many studies have focused on the use of solid waste as carbon dioxide sorbents. The use of waste resources as carbon dioxide sorbents not only leads to the development of relatively low-cost materials, but also eliminates waste simultaneously. Different types of waste materials from biomass, industrial waste, household waste, and so forth were used as carbon dioxide sorbents with sufficient carbon dioxide capture capacities. Herein, progress on the development of carbon dioxide sorbents produced from waste materials is reviewed and covers key factors, such as the type of waste, preparation method, further modification method, carbon dioxide sorption performance, and kinetics studies. In addition, a new research direction for further study is proposed. It is hoped that this critical review will not merely sum up the major research directions in this field, but also provide significant suggestions for future work.

Validating carbonation parameters of alkaline solid wastes via integrated thermal analyses: Principles and applications

Accelerated carbonation of alkaline solid wastes is an attractive method for CO2 capture and utilization. However, the evaluation criteria of CaCO3 content in solid wastes and the way to interpret thermal analysis profiles were found to be quite different among the literature. In this investigation, an integrated thermal analyses for determining carbonation parameters in basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFS) were proposed based on thermogravimetric (TG), derivative thermogravimetric (DTG), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. A modified method of TG-DTG interpretation was proposed by considering the consecutive weight loss of sample with 200-900°C because the decomposition of various hydrated compounds caused variances in estimates by using conventional methods of TG interpretation. Different quantities of reference CaCO3 standards, carbonated BOFS samples and synthetic CaCO3/BOFS mixtures were prepared for evaluating the data quality of the modified TG-DTG interpretation, in terms of precision and accuracy. The quantitative results of the modified TG-DTG method were also validated by DSC analysis. In addition, to confirm the TG-DTG results, the evolved gas analysis was performed by mass spectrometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for detection of the gaseous compounds released during heating. Furthermore, the decomposition kinetics and thermodynamics of CaCO3 in BOFS was evaluated using Arrhenius equation and Kissinger equation. The proposed integrated thermal analyses for determining CaCO3 content in alkaline wastes was precise and accurate, thereby enabling to effectively assess the CO2 capture capacity of alkaline wastes for mineral carbonation.