Insights into the Chemical Mechanism for CO2(aq) and H+ in Aqueous Diamine Solutions - An Experimental Stopped-Flow Kinetic and 1H/13C NMR Study of Aqueous Solutions of N,N-Dimethylethylenediamine for Postcombustion CO2 Capture

Synergistic Catalysis of SO42-/TiO2-CNT for the CO2 Desorption Process with Low Energy Consumption

To address the issue of high energy consumption associated with monoethanolamine (MEA) regeneration in the CO2 capture process, solid acid catalysts have been widely investigated due to their performance in accelerating carbamate decomposition. The recently discovered carbon nanotube (CNT) catalyst presents efficient catalytic activity for bicarbonate decomposition. In this paper, bifunctional catalysts SO42-/TiO2-CNT (STC) were prepared, which could simultaneously catalyze carbamate and bicarbonate decomposition, and outstanding catalytic performance has been exhibited. STC significantly increased the CO2 desorption amount by 82.3% and decreased the relative heat duty by 46% compared to the MEA-CO2 solution without catalysts. The excellent stability of STC was confirmed by 15 cyclic absorption-desorption experiments, showing good practical feasibility for decreasing energy consumption in an industrial CO2 capture process. Furthermore, associated with the results of experimental characterization and theoretical calculations, the synergistic catalysis of STC catalysts via proton and charge transfer was proposed. This work demonstrated the potential of STC catalysts in improving the efficiency of amine regeneration processes and reducing energy consumption, contributing to the design of more effective and economical catalysts for carbon capture.

Metal Oxyhydroxide Catalysts Promoted CO2 Absorption and Desorption in Amine-Based Carbon Capture: A Feasibility Study

The huge energy penalty of CO₂ desorption is the greatest challenge impeding the commercial application of amine-based CO₂ capture. To deal with this problem, a series of metal oxide and oxyhydroxide catalysts were synthesized in this study to kinetically facilitate the CO₂ desorption from 5.0 M monoethanolamine (MEA). The effects of selected catalysts on CO₂ absorption kinetics, CO₂ absorption capacity, CO₂ reaction enthalpy, and desorption duty reduction of 2.0 M MEA were investigated by a true heat flow reaction calorimeter to access the practical feasibility of the catalytic CO₂ desorption. The kinetic study of catalytic CO₂ desorption was also carried out. CO₂ desorption chemistry, catalyst characterization, and structure-function relationships were investigated to reveal the underlying mechanisms. Results show that addition of the catalyst had slight effects on the CO₂ absorption kinetics and CO₂ reaction enthalpy of MEA. In contrast, the CO₂ desorption efficiency greatly increased from 28% in reference MEA to 52% in ZrO(OH)₂-aided MEA. Compared to the benchmark catalyst HZSM-5, ZrO(OH)₂ exhibited a 13% improvement in CO₂ desorption efficiency. More importantly, compared to the reference MEA, the CO₂ desorption duties of ZrO(OH)₂ and FeOOH-aided MEA significantly reduced by 45 and 47% respectively, which are better than those of most other reported catalysts. The large surface area, pore volume, pore diameter, and amount of surface hydroxyl groups of ZrO(OH)₂ and FeOOH afforded the catalytic performance by promoting the adsorption of alkaline speciation (e.g., MEA and HCO₃ ^-) onto the particle surface.

CO2 Absorption Mechanism by Diamino Protic Ionic Liquids (DPILs) Containing Azolide Anions

Protic ionic liquids have been regarded as promising materials to capture CO2, because they can be easily synthesized with an attractive capacity. In this work, we studied the CO2 absorption mechanism by protic ionic liquids (ILs) composed of diamino protic cations and azolide anions. Results of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR, 2-D NMR and fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy tests indicated that CO2 reacted with the cations rather than with the anions. The possible reaction pathway between CO2 and azolide-based protic ILs is proposed, in which CO2 reacts with the primary amine group generated from the deprotonation of the cation by the azolide anion.

Generalized indicator-based determination of solution pH

pH indicators can be used both fast responsive as well as long-term stable sensors. They have been extensively used for monitoring pH changes in fast kinetic reactions as well as slowly changing pH in oceanic waters. If the pH range that needs to be covered is narrow it is possible to use only one indicator of appropriate protonation constant; otherwise, mixtures of two or more indicators are used for monitoring pH values covering a broad range of pH. In this paper we presented a new methodology for determining pH of solutions using mixtures of pH indicators. The pH calculation is based on the strict application of the basic laws of mass action and mass conservation. The proposed method was evaluated by the successful determination of the pH values of solutions containing three indicators (neutral red, phenol red (two different protonation constants), and methyl orange) covering a wide range of pH values from 0.5 to 9. The method was also applied for rapid monitoring of pH changes in stopped-flow measurements, investigating the reactions of CO₂ in aqueous amine solutions.

Mechanism Investigation of Advanced Metal-Ion-Mediated Amine Regeneration: A Novel Pathway to Reducing CO2 Reaction Enthalpy in Amine-Based CO2 Capture

The high energy consumption of CO₂ and absorbent regeneration is one of the most critical challenges facing commercial application of amine-based postcombustion CO₂ capture. Here, we report a novel approach of metal-ion-mediated amine regeneration (MMAR) to advance the process of amine regeneration. MMAR uses the dual ability of amine to reversibly react with CO₂ and reversibly complex with metal ions to reduce the enthalpy of the CO₂ reaction, thus decrease the overall heat requirement for amine regeneration. To elucidate the mechanistic effects behind MMAR's ability to reduce CO₂ reaction enthalpy, we developed a comprehensive chemical model describing the chemistry of Me(II)-monoethanolamine(MEA)-CO₂-H₂O system. The model was then validated using experimentally determined CO₂ partial pressures via vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) measurements. We used the validated chemical model to gain insight into VLE behavior and solution chemistry, and to identify the specific changes in CO₂ reaction enthalpy with and without metal ions. Two metals and five amines were evaluated in detail, which revealed that metal-ions with high complexation enthalpy and amines with large carbamate stability constant are preferred in MMAR, owing to their large reduction in reaction enthalpy and regeneration duty. We anticipate that MMAR could provide an alternative pathway to reducing the energy consumption of absorbent regeneration, ultimately making amine-based processes more technically and economically viable.

A Diamine-Based Integrated Absorption-Mineralization Process for Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Energy Savings, Fast Kinetics, and High Stability

The high energy requirement of amine regeneration and the uncertainty of safe disposal of the captured CO₂ remain big challenges to the large-scale implementation of amine scrubbing process for CO₂ capture. Mineral carbonation represents a safe and permanent route to capture and store CO₂ with net energy production but typically proceeds at a slow reaction rate. Here, we present a new integrated absorption and mineralization (IAM) process that couples a diamine-based CO₂ absorption with fly-ash-triggered amine regeneration. The technical feasibility of the IAM process using 3-diethylaminopropylamine (DEAPA) and CaO-containing materials such as CaO and coal fly ashes was verified, and the reaction mechanism involved was investigated. It was found that CaO and CaO-rich coal fly ash were effective to regenerate DEAPA via the decomposition of DEAPA carbamate species and the formation of calcium carbonate precipitates. Furthermore, the diamine-based IAM process displayed a fast kinetics and a high stability for CO₂ sequestration and can reduce the leachability of some heavy metals in the fly ash. These process properties render this diamine-based IAM process a great potential for carbon capture and sequestration applications.