Nanosilica-supported polyethoxyamines as low-cost, reversible carbon dioxide sorbents

A Highly Tunable Approach to Enhance CO2 Capture with Liquid Alkali/amines

A diverse range of alkali/amine infused hydrogels (AIHs) were generated by incorporating the liquids into a hydrogel particle for carbon capture application. As a consequence, the CO₂ uptake was significantly enhanced owing to the increased contact area. This AIHs technique was highly tunable as it could be applicable to varying species of alkali chemicals and it was found that their molecular structure and architectures could impact the CO₂ uptake. Compared to stirred bulk alkali/amine solutions, the CO₂ absorption capacity of AIHs was increased by 400% within 30 min with a low hydrogel loading (10 w/w%). In addition, the recyclability of various AIHs was assessed and was found to be extremely encouraging. The effect of salinity on the performance of AIHs was also investigated and high salinity was found to have a minimal effect on CO₂ absorption. Most importantly, the preparation of AIHs is fast and straightforward with few wastes and byproducts formed in the preparation process. In all, extensive investigations were presented and the AIHs were found to be a highly tunable and effective approach to enhance CO₂ capture with liquid alkali/amines.

Carbon Dioxide Capture with Ionic Liquids and Deep Eutectic Solvents: A New Generation of Sorbents

High cost and high energy penalty for CO₂ uptake from flue gases are important obstacles in large-scale industrial applications, and developing efficient technology for CO₂ capture from technical and economic points is crucial. Ionic liquids (ILs) show the potential for CO₂ separation owing to their inherent advantages, and have been proposed as alternatives to overcome the drawbacks of conventional sorbents. Chemical modification of ILs to improve their performance in CO₂ absorption has received more attention. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as a new generation of ILs are considered as more economical alternatives to cope with the deficiencies of high cost and high viscosity of conventional ILs. This Review discusses the potential of functionalized ILs and DESs as CO₂ sorbents. Incorporation of CO₂ -philic functional groups, such as amine, in cation and/or anion moiety of ILs can promot their absorption capacity. In general, the functionalization of the anion part of ILs is more effective than the cation part. DESs represent favorable solvent properties and are capable of capturing CO₂ , but the research work is scarce and undeveloped compared to the studies conducted on ILs. It is possible to develop novel DESs with promising absorption capacity. However, more investigation needs to be carried out on the mechanism of CO₂ sorption of DESs to clarify how these novel sorbents can be adjusted and fine-tuned to be best tailored as optimized media for CO₂ capture.