Advances in CO₂ utilization technology: A patent landscape review

The global patent landscape of emerging infectious disease monkeypox

BACKGROUND

Monkeypox is an emerging infectious disease with confirmed cases and deaths in several parts of the world. In light of this crisis, this study aims to analyze the global knowledge pattern of monkeypox-related patents and explore current trends and future technical directions in the medical development of monkeypox to inform research and policy.

METHODS

A comprehensive study of 1,791 monkeypox-related patents worldwide was conducted using the Derwent patent database by descriptive statistics, social network method and linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

Since the 21st century, the number of monkeypox-related patents has increased rapidly, accompanied by increases in collaboration between commercial and academic patentees. Enterprises contributed the most in patent quantity, whereas the initial milestone patent was filed by academia. The core developments of technology related to the monkeypox include biological and chemical medicine. The innovations of vaccines and virus testing lack sufficient patent support in portfolios.

CONCLUSIONS

Monkeypox-related therapeutic innovation is geographically limited with strong international intellectual property right barriers though it has increased rapidly in recent years. The transparent licensing of patent knowledge is driven by the merger and acquisition model, and the venture capital, intellectual property and contract research organization model. Currently, the patent thicket phenomenon in the monkeypox field may slow the progress of efforts to combat monkeypox. Enterprises should pay more attention to the sharing of technical knowledge, make full use of drug repurposing strategies, and promote innovation of monkeypox-related technology in hotspots of antivirals (such as tecovirimat, cidofovir, brincidofovir), vaccines (JYNNEOS, ACAM2000), herbal medicine and gene therapy.

Multi-doped borophene catalysts with engineered defects for CO2 reduction: A DFT study

Carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into value-added products via the electrochemical method is a conducive way to tackle the hazard of high CO2 emissions. The present DFT study reports a novel dual chromium-anchored tri-vacancy borophene (Cr2/TV-β12) electrocatalyst, which showed high selectivity and stability for CO2RR. A tri-vacancy defect was introduced in β12 borophene to create an 11-membered ring borophene sheet (TV-β12), and 28 different electrocatalysts were explored via doping various transition metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn). Density functional theory simulation results revealed that the Cr2/TV-β12 electrocatalyst adsorbs and activates CO2 efficiently, which was validated by the partial density of states, charge density difference, Bader charge, and crystal orbital Hamilton population analyses. The limiting potential for CO2RR was evaluated to be -0.45 V, against hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) (0.57 V), with the main product being formaldehyde. The catalyst showed selectivity towards CO2 reduction and suppressed HER. The usual problem of carbon monoxide poisoning encountered in CO2 reduction was also assessed and a high resistance against the same was established. At the outset, the research revealed that dual atom-doped tri-vacancy β12 borophene has tremendous potential to be utilized as an efficient catalyst for CO2RR.

Experimental study of true triaxial high pressure subcritical water impact fracturing

A new fluid alternative to slick water for fracturing shale gas can reduce the waste of water resources and improve the extraction efficiency, enabling volumetric fracturing. For the new fracturing technique, the experiments of different release pressures under pre-injection and for pre-injection were conducted using a self-designed true triaxial experimental system, and the pressure pulse curves were plotted to analyze the fracturing principle. The experimental results showed that: (1) the pressure rise curve in the reactor can be divided into five stages: initial reaction, linear pressure rise, rate slowdown, instantaneous pressure release, and residual pressure stages; (2) Pre-filling fracturing requires a smaller expansion ratio, weaker pressure degradation, resulting in better fracturing effect; (3) The increase in the initial fracture length leads to an increase in the pressure required to extend the fracture, and high-pressure subcritical water impact fracturing achieved fracture extension at a lower fluid pressure; (4) The fractal dimension has a strong linear relationship with fracture complexity, which is a new option when evaluating the fracturing effect. Volumetric fracturing allows for the creation of more tiny trenches that increase reservoir permeability, leading to better recovery of the reservoir's energy resources.

CCUS technology, digital economy, and carbon emission efficiency: Evidence from China's provincial panel data

Improving carbon emission efficiency is crucial for realizing carbon neutralization. Many critical influencing factors of carbon emission efficiency were identified by previous studies, but they ignored the impact of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology, which is considered in this study. By employing the panel fixed effect, the moderating effect, and the panel threshold regression models, this study investigates the influence of CCUS technology on carbon emission efficiency and how that impact fluctuates when digital economy is incorporated. Data for China's 30 provinces from 2011 to 2019 is adopted. The results suggest that improving CCUS technology significantly promotes carbon emission efficiency and the promotion effect is positively moderated by digital economy. Considering the level of CCUS technology or digital economy, the effect of CCUS technology on carbon emission efficiency is nonlinear and has significant double-threshold effects. Only when CCUS technology reaches a certain threshold, can it has a significantly positive impact on carbon emission efficiency and that effect has an increasing trend in marginal utility. Meanwhile, with the deepening of digital economy, the relationship between CCUS technology and carbon emission efficiency shows an S-shaped curve trend. Those findings, first combining CCUS technology, digital economy, and carbon emission efficiency together, reflect the significance of advancing CCUS technology and adjusting the development of digital economy for achieving sustainable low-carbon development.

Enhancing performance and sustainability of ultra-high-performance concrete through solid calcium carbonate precipitation

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) exhibits high compressive strength and good durability. However, owing to the dense microstructure of UHPC, carbonation curing cannot be performed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide (CO₂). In this study, CO₂ was added to UHPC indirectly. Gaseous CO₂ was first converted into solid calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) using calcium hydroxide, and the converted CaCO₃ was then added to UHPC at 2, 4, and 6 wt% based on the cementitious material. The performance and sustainability of UHPC with indirect CO₂ addition were investigated through macroscopic and microscopic experiments. The experimental results showed that the method used did not negatively affect the performance of UHPC. Compared with the control group, the early strength, ultrasonic velocity, and resistivity of UHPC containing solid CO₂ improved to varying degrees. Microscopic experiments, such as heat of hydration and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), demonstrated that adding captured CO₂ accelerated the hydration rate of the paste. Finally, the CO₂ emissions were normalized according to the compressive strength and resistivity at 28 days. The results indicated that the CO₂ emissions per unit compressive strength and unit resistivity of UHPC with CO₂ were lower than those of the control group.

CO2 in indoor environments: From environmental and health risk to potential renewable carbon source

In the developed world, individuals spend most of their time indoors. Poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has a wide range of effects on human health. The burden of disease associated with indoor air accounts for millions of premature deaths related to exposure to Indoor Air Pollutants (IAPs). Among them, CO₂ is the most common one, and is commonly used as a metric of IAQ. Indoor CO₂ concentrations can be significantly higher than outdoors due to human metabolism and activities. Even in presence of ventilation, controlling the CO₂ concentration below the Indoor Air Guideline Values (IAGVs) is a challenge, and many indoor environments including schools, offices and transportation exceed the recommended value of 1000 ppm_v. This is often accompanied by high concentration of other pollutants, including bio-effluents such as viruses, and the importance of mitigating the transmission of airborne diseases has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the relatively high CO₂ concentration of indoor environments presents a thermodynamic advantage for direct air capture (DAC) in comparison to atmospheric CO₂ concentration. This review aims to describe the issues associated with poor IAQ, and to demonstrate the potential of indoor CO₂ DAC to purify indoor air while generating a renewable carbon stream that can replace conventional carbon sources as a building block for chemical production, contributing to the circular economy.

Market Stakeholder Analysis of the Practical Implementation of Carbonation Curing on Steel Slag for Urban Sustainable Governance

Carbonation curing on steel slag is one of the most promising technologies for the iron and steel industry to manage its solid waste and carbon emissions. However, the technology is still in its demonstration stage. This paper investigates the market stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag for construction materials for its effective application by taking China as a case study. A holistic analysis of the competition, market size, and stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag was carried out through a literature review, a survey, a questionnaire, and interviews. The results showed that carbonation curing on steel slag had the advantages of high quality, high efficiency, low cost, and carbon reduction compared with other technologies. Shandong province was the most suitable province for the large-scale primary application of the technology. Stakeholder involvement to establish information platforms, enhance economic incentives, and promote adequate R&D activities would promote carbonation curing of steel slag into practice. This paper provides a reference for the commercialization of carbonation curing on similar calcium- and magnesium-based solid waste materials.

CO2 Injection Deformation Monitoring Based on UAV and InSAR Technology: A Case Study of Shizhuang Town, Shanxi Province, China

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, also referred to as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS), is one of the novel climate mitigation technologies by which CO2 emissions are captured from sources, such as fossil power generation and industrial processes, and further either reused or stored with more attention being paid on the utilization of captured CO2. In the whole CCUS process, the dominant migration pathway of CO2 after being injected underground becomes very important information to judge the possible storage status as well as one of the essential references for evaluating possible environmental affects. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology, with its advantages of extensive coverage in surface deformation monitoring and all-weather traceability of the injection processes, has become one of the promising technologies frequently adopted in worldwide CCUS projects. In this study, taking the CCUS sequestration area in Shizhuang Town, Shanxi Province, China, as an example, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photography measurement technology with a 3D surface model at a resolution of 5.3 cm was applied to extract the high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the study site in coordination with InSAR technology to more clearly display the results of surface deformation monitoring of the CO2 injection area. A 2 km surface heaving dynamic processes before and after injection from June 2020 to July 2021 was obtained, and a CO2 migration pathway northeastward was observed, which was rather consistent with the monitoring results by logging and micro-seismic studies. Additionally, an integrated monitoring scheme, which will be the trend of monitoring in the future, is proposed in the discussion.

The impact of innovation on environmental quality: Evidence for the non-linear relationship of patents and CO2 emissions in China

We seek to test whether innovation, measured by the number of accepted patents improves or worsens the environment in China. We hypothesize the existence of an inverse U-shaped curve, which differs by industry and provincial level of development. In that context, we test for a quadratic relationship between accepted patents and CO2 emissions per capita in 30 provinces and 32 economic sectors of China. We use a novel fixed effect panel data quantile (FEQR) regression estimator and differentiate between energy-intensive and non-energy intensive sectors, as well as between more and less-developed provinces of China. We find evidence for an inverse U-shaped relation between patent generation and CO2 emissions for both, more and less energy-intensive sectors, suggesting that at low levels of innovation new technologies tend to be "dirty", but at high levels of innovation new technologies tend to be "green". The same relationship holds for less-developed provinces as well. For more-developed provinces, we find the opposite relation, which we explain with a "rebound effect".

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6 with PVP addition for CO2 reduction into ethanol under visible light

The conversion of CO₂ into new carbon-based products, such as fuels and chemicals, is an attractive and promising means of mitigating global energy needs and minimizing environmental damage. Although bismuth tungstate (Bi₂WO₆) as a photocatalyst can promote CO₂ photoreduction, a systematic study for the development of a low-cost and efficient catalyst is needed. Thus, Bi₂WO₆ with different morphologies was successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method. An experimental design was applied to investigate the effect of synthesis time and PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) concentration on catalyst photocatalytic activity. Crystal structures, morphologies, optical absorption, and surface charges of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, UV-vis diffuse-reflection spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and zeta potential. All samples exhibited good performance for the photoreduction of CO₂ into ethanol, and both time and PVP concentration were significant in the ethanol yield. Changes in synthesis conditions induced differences in catalyst characteristics, such as morphology, crystallinity, and, predominantly, surface area. Furthermore, PVP addition improved photocatalytic efficiency by up to 258% compared with results without the surfactant. The best sample, W-8h-10%, presented a flower-like morphology and ethanol yield of 68.9 μmol g^-1 h^-1.

Capture and Reuse of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for a Plastics Circular Economy: A Review

Plastic production has been increasing at enormous rates. Particularly, the socioenvironmental problems resulting from the linear economy model have been widely discussed, especially regarding plastic pieces intended for single use and disposed improperly in the environment. Nonetheless, greenhouse gas emissions caused by inappropriate disposal or recycling and by the many production stages have not been discussed thoroughly. Regarding the manufacturing processes, carbon dioxide is produced mainly through heating of process streams and intrinsic chemical transformations, explaining why first-generation petrochemical industries are among the top five most greenhouse gas (GHG)-polluting businesses. Consequently, the plastics market must pursue full integration with the circular economy approach, promoting the simultaneous recycling of plastic wastes and sequestration and reuse of CO2 through carbon capture and utilization (CCU) strategies, which can be employed for the manufacture of olefins (among other process streams) and reduction of fossil-fuel demands and environmental impacts. Considering the previous remarks, the present manuscript’s purpose is to provide a review regarding CO2 emissions, capture, and utilization in the plastics industry. A detailed bibliometric review of both the scientific and the patent literature available is presented, including the description of key players and critical discussions and suggestions about the main technologies. As shown throughout the text, the number of documents has grown steadily, illustrating the increasing importance of CCU strategies in the field of plastics manufacture.

Uncovering the dynamics in global carbon dioxide utilization research: a bibliometric analysis (1995-2019)

The anthropogenic emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere is recognized as the main contributor to global climate change. To date, scientists have developed various strategies, including CO₂ utilization technologies, to reduce global carbon emissions. This paper presents the global scientific landscape of the CO₂ utilization research from 1995 to 2019 based on a bibliometric analysis of 1875 publications extracted from Web of Science. The findings indicate a major increase in the number of publications and citations received from 2015 to 2019, denoting a fast-emerging research trend. The dynamics of global CO₂ utilization research is partly driven by China's policies and research funding to promote low-carbon economic development. Applied Energy is recognized as a core journal in this research topic. The utilization of CO₂ is a multidisciplinary topic that has progressed by multidimensional collaborations at the country and organizations levels, while the formation of co-authorship networks at the individual level is mostly influenced by the authors' affiliations. Keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals a rapid evolution in the CO₂ utilization strategies from chemical fixation in carbonates and epoxides to pilot-scale testing of power-to-gas technologies in Europe and the USA. The development of efficient power-to-fuel technologies and biological utilization routes (using microalgae and bacteria) will probably be the next research priorities in CO₂ utilization research.

Analytical Review of Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts of Carbon Capture and Utilization Technologies

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) has been proposed as a sustainable alternative to produce valuable chemicals by reducing the global warming impact and depletion of fossil resources. To guarantee that CCU processes have environmental advantages over conventional production processes, thorough and systematic environmental impact analyses must be performed. Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a robust methodology that can be used to fulfil this aim. In this context, this article aims to review the life-cycle environmental impacts of several CCU processes, focusing on the production of methanol, methane, dimethyl ether, dimethyl carbonate, propane and propene. A systematic literature review is used to collect relevant published evidence of the environmental impacts and potential benefits. An analysis of such information shows that CCU generally provides a reduction of environmental impacts, notably global warming/climate change, compared to conventional manufacturing processes of the same product. To achieve such environmental improvements, renewable energy must be used, particularly to produce hydrogen from water electrolysis. Importantly, different methodological choices are identified that are being used in the LCA studies, making results not comparable. There is a clear need to harmonize LCA methods for the analyses of CCU systems, and more importantly, to document and justify such methodological choices in the LCA report.

Green Synthesis of 2-Oxazolidinones by an Efficient and Recyclable CuBr/Ionic Liquid System via CO2, Propargylic Alcohols, and 2-Aminoethanols

With the aim of profitable conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) in an efficient, economical, and sustainable manner, we developed a CuBr/ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) catalytic system that could efficiently catalyze the three-component reactions of propargylic alcohols, 2-aminoethanols, and CO2 to produce 2-oxazolidinones and α-hydroxy ketones. Remarkably, this catalytic system employed lower metal loading (0.0125–0.5 mol%) but exhibited the highest turnover number (2960) ever reported, demonstrating its excellent activity and sustainability. Moreover, our catalytic system could efficiently work under 1 atm of CO2 pressure and recycle among the metal-catalyzed systems.

The in situ growth of Cu2O with a honeycomb structure on a roughed graphite paper for the efficient electroreduction of CO2 to C2H4

A Cu2O/NGP self-supporting electrocatalyst is used for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to ethylene to solve environmental and energy problems.

Development of a single helical baffle to increase CO2 gas and microalgal solution mixing and Chlorella PY-ZU1 biomass yield

A single helical baffle (SHB), consisting of twisted turns, was developed to convert straight flow into spiral flow in a Chlorella PY-ZU1 open raceway pond (ORWP) bubbled with 15% CO₂. Microalgal solution flowing through the SHB alternative helical interspaces generated whirling flow both vertically and horizontally, which decreased mixing and increased mass transfer rates. The optimized SHB had a pitch length to total SHB length ratio of 0.13 and SHB diameter to ORWP single channel width ratio of 0.30, which decreased mixing times and increased mass transfer coefficients by 41.1% and 38.4% respectively. SHB moved Chlorella PY-ZU1 from the ORWP bottom to the top, increasing light exposure for photosynthesis. Cellular electron transfer rates and photochemical efficiency (φPSII) increased by 18%, chlorophyll a content increased by 16% and variable to maximum fluorescence ratio increased by 13%. The microalgal biomass of SHB ORWP was 23% higher than that of conventional ORWP.

Elevated conversion of CO2 to versatile formate by a newly discovered formate dehydrogenase from Rhodobacter aestuarii

Due to climate change, recent research interests have increased towards CO₂ utilization as a strategy to mitigate the atmospheric CO₂ level. Herein, we aimed to explore formate dehydrogenases (FDHs) from chemoautotroph to discover an efficient and O₂-tolerant biocatalyst for catalyzing the CO₂ reduction to a versatile formate. Through genome-mining and phylogenetic analysis, the FDH from Rhodobacter aestuarii (RaFDH) was newly discovered as a promising O₂-tolernat CO₂ reductase and was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. In this study, the optimum conditions and turnover rates of RaFDH were examined for CO₂ reduction and formate oxidation. In particular, the RaFDH-driven CO₂ reduction far surpassed the formate oxidation with a turnover rate of 48.3 and 15.6 min^-1, respectively. The outstanding superiority of RaFDH towards CO₂ reduction can be applicable for constructing a feasible electroenzymatic system that produce a versatile formate from CO₂ as a cheap, abundant, and renewable resource.

Techno-Economic and Environmental Evaluations of Decarbonized Fossil-Intensive Industrial Processes by Reactive Absorption & Adsorption CO2 Capture Systems

Decarbonization of energy-intensive systems (e.g., heat and power generation, iron, and steel production, petrochemical processes, cement production, etc.) is an important task for the development of a low carbon economy. In this respect, carbon capture technologies will play an important role in the decarbonization of fossil-based industrial processes. The most significant techno-economic and environmental performance indicators of various fossil-based industrial applications decarbonized by two reactive gas-liquid (chemical scrubbing) and gas-solid CO2 capture systems are calculated, compared, and discussed in the present work. As decarbonization technologies, the gas-liquid chemical absorption and more innovative calcium looping systems were employed. The integrated assessment uses various elements, e.g., conceptual design of decarbonized plants, computer-aided tools for process design and integration, evaluation of main plant performance indexes based on industrial and simulation results, etc. The overall decarbonization rate for various assessed applications (e.g., power generation, steel, and cement production, chemicals) was set to 90% in line with the current state of the art in the field. Similar non-carbon capture plants are also assessed to quantify the various penalties imposed by decarbonization (e.g., increasing energy consumption, reducing efficiency, economic impact, etc.). The integrated evaluations exhibit that the integration of decarbonization technologies (especially chemical looping systems) into key energy-intensive industrial processes have significant advantages for cutting the carbon footprint (60–90% specific CO2 emission reduction), improving the energy conversion yields and reducing CO2 capture penalties.

2D-Layered Ni-MgO-Al2 O3 Nanosheets for Integrated Capture and Methanation of CO2

CO₂ capture is an enabling technology for carbon conversion and storage; however, the high costs of the process have hindered its large-scale application so far. Therefore, new approaches for carbon abatement, particularly from diluted sources, are urgently needed. Herein, based on the adsorption and catalysis bifunctionality of 2D-layered Ni-O-Al₂ O₃ nanosheets, a two-step "capture and methanation" process is reported for the removal and utilization of CO₂ , with no additional energy input for desorption being required. Continuous and nearly 100 % capture of CO₂ was demonstrated at low temperatures (≤250 °C) and prolonged cycles. At isothermal conditions, the material could be fully regenerated with the production of methane, showing considerably higher time efficiency than temperature-swing and pressure-swing technologies. This strategy may pave a new way for CO₂ reduction, providing a scalable connection between the power grid and the gas grid when H₂ is used.

Carbon material-supported Fe7C3@FeO nanoparticles: a highly efficient catalyst for carbon dioxide reduction with 1-butene

Highly dispersed Fe₇C₃@FeO supported on AC was synthesized and demonstrated as an excellent catalyst for carbon dioxide reduction with 1-butene.

Industrial carbon dioxide capture and utilization: state of the art and future challenges

This review covers the sustainable development of advanced improvements in CO₂ capture and utilization.