Advanced configurations for post-combustion CO2 capture processes using an aqueous ammonia solution as absorbent

Reactive capture and electrochemical conversion of CO2 with ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents

Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have tremendous potential for reactive capture and conversion (RCC) of CO2 due to their wide electrochemical stability window, low volatility, and high CO2 solubility. There is environmental and economic interest in the direct utilization of the captured CO2 using electrified and modular processes that forgo the thermal- or pressure-swing regeneration steps to concentrate CO2, eliminating the need to compress, transport, or store the gas. The conventional electrochemical conversion of CO2 with aqueous electrolytes presents limited CO2 solubility and high energy requirement to achieve industrially relevant products. Additionally, aqueous systems have competitive hydrogen evolution. In the past decade, there has been significant progress toward the design of ILs and DESs, and their composites to separate CO2 from dilute streams. In parallel, but not necessarily in synergy, there have been studies focused on a few select ILs and DESs for electrochemical reduction of CO2, often diluting them with aqueous or non-aqueous solvents. The resulting electrode-electrolyte interfaces present a complex speciation for RCC. In this review, we describe how the ILs and DESs are tuned for RCC and specifically address the CO2 chemisorption and electroreduction mechanisms. Critical bulk and interfacial properties of ILs and DESs are discussed in the context of RCC, and the potential of these electrolytes are presented through a techno-economic evaluation.

Coal Ash Enrichment with Its Full Use in Various Areas

Increasing the percentage of recycling of various industrial waste is an important step towards caring for the environment. Coal ash is one of the most large-tonnage wastes, which is formed as a result of the operation of thermal power plants. The aim of this work is to develop a technology for the complex processing of coal ash. The tasks to achieve this aim are to develop a technology for the complex enrichment and separation of coal ash into components, with the possibility of their use in various applications, in particular: processing the aluminosilicate part as a pozzolanic additive to cement; carbon underburning for fuel briquettes; the iron-containing part for metallurgy and fertilizers. Complex enrichment and separation into components of coal ash were carried out according to the author's technology, which includes six stages: disintegration, flotation, two-stage magnetic separation, grinding, and drying. The aluminosilicate component has a fairly constant granulometric composition with a mode of 13.56 μm, a specific surface area of 1597.2 m²/kg, and a bulk density of 900 kg/m³. The compressive strength for seven and twenty-eight daily samples when Portland cement is replaced by 15% with an aluminosilicate additive, increases to 30-35%. According to the developed technology, high-calorie fuel briquettes are obtained from underburnt with a density of 1000-1200 kg/m³, a calorific value of 19.5-20 MJ/kg, and an ash content of 0.5-1.5%. The iron-containing component, recovered by two-stage magnetic separation, has the potential to be used in metallurgy as a coking additive, in particular for the production of iron and steel. In addition, an effective micro-fertilizer was obtained from the iron-containing component, which: is an excellent source of minerals; improves the quality of acidic soil; helps soil microorganisms decompose organic matter faster, turning it into elements available to plants; promotes rooting of seedlings; helps to more effectively deal with many pests and diseases. As a result, the complete utilization of coal ash in various applications has been achieved.

Simulation-Based Optimization of a Multiple Gas Feed Sweetening Process

For an energy-intensive sweetening process, it is common that sour gases from different sources are sent to a single sweetening plant in industries. In our previous work, a multiple gas feed sweetening process was proposed, which can simultaneously improve the purity of H₂S and reduce the energy consumption of the plant. This study aims to develop the superstructure of that process and use a simulation-based optimization framework with Aspen HYSYS as the process simulator and particle swarm optimization algorithm as the optimizer. In addition, by taking full advantage of the robustness of the built-in algorithm of the simulator, the convergence of the model is improved; meanwhile, simplification of the process and reduction of the optimization time are accessible with the proposed design specifications and assumptions. For a convergence-difficult column, a stepwise convergence adjustment was used to ensure their convergence. Based on this, the robustness and effectiveness of the method is proven through a case study, and it can also provide guidance for model selection, process simplification, and optimization of the same type of absorption process.

Fe-Catalyzed CO2 Adsorption over Hexagonal Boron Nitride with the Presence of H2O

The energy barrier of CO₂ chemically adsorbed on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is relatively big. In order to cut down the energy barriers and facilitate fast adsorption of CO₂, it is necessary to apply catalysts as a promoter. In this study, single-atom iron is introduced as the catalyst to reduce the energy barriers of CO₂ adsorbed on pure/doped h-BN. Through density functional theory calculations, catalytic reaction mechanisms, stability of single-atom iron fixed on adsorbents, CO₂ adsorption characteristics, and features of thermodynamics/reaction dynamics during adsorption processes are fully investigated to explain the catalytic effects of single-atom iron on CO₂ chemisorption. According to calculations, when CO₂ and OH^- get into activated states (i.e., CO₂^•- and ^•OH) with the help of single-atom iron, their chemical activities will be promoted to a large degree, which makes the transition state (TS) energy barrier of HCO₃^- to decrease by 92.54%. In the meantime, it is proved that single-atom iron could be stably fixed on doped h-BN with the binding energy larger than 2 eV to achieve sustainable catalysis. With the presence of single-atom iron, TS energy barriers of CO₂ adsorbed on h-BN with the presence of H₂O decreased by 94.39, 78.87, and 30.63% over pure h-BN, 3C-doped h-BN, and 3N-doped h-BN, respectively. In the meantime, thermodynamic analyses indicate that TS energy barriers are mainly determined by element doping and temperatures are a little beneficial to the reduction of TS energy barriers. With the above aspects combined, the results of this study could supply crucial information for massively and quickly capturing CO₂ in real industries.