Water-Lean Solvents for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture: Fundamentals, Uncertainties, Opportunities, and Outlook

This review is designed to foster the discussion regarding the viability of postcombustion CO₂ capture by water-lean solvents, by separating fact from fiction for both skeptics and advocates. We highlight the unique physical and thermodynamic properties of notable water-lean solvents, with a discussion of how such properties could translate to efficiency gains compared to aqueous amines. The scope of this review ranges from the purely fundamental molecular-level processes that govern solvent behavior to bench-scale testing, through process engineering and projections of process performance and cost. Key discussions of higher than expected CO₂ mass transfer, water tolerance, and compatibility with current infrastructure are presented along with current limitations and suggested areas where further solvent development is needed. We conclude with an outlook of the status of the field and assess the viability of water-lean solvents for postcombustion CO₂ capture.

Selective separation of CO2–CH4 mixed gases via magnesium aminoethylphosphonate nanoparticles

Magnesium 2-aminoethylphosphonate (Mg₂O(2AEP) × 4H₂O) nanoparticles (particle diameter: 20–30 nm; specific surface area: 360 m² g⁻¹) are presented for selective separation of CO₂ and CH₄.

Multidimensional (0D to 3D) Alkaline-Earth Metal Diphosphonates: Synthesis, Structural Diversity, and Luminescence Properties

A series of new alkaline-earth metal diphosphonate frameworks were successfully synthesized under solvothermal reaction condition (160 °C, 3 d) using 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (CH3C(OH)(H2PO3)2, hedpH4) as a diphosphonate building block and Mg(II), Ca(II), Sr(II), or Ba(II) ions as alkaline-earth metal ion centers in water, dimethylformamide, and/or EtOH media. These diphosphonate frameworks, (H2NMe2)4[Mg(hedpH2)3]·3H2O (1), (H2NMe2)2[Ca(hedpH2)2] (2), (H2NMe2)2[Sr3(hedpH2)4(H2O)2] (3), and [Ba3(hedpH2)3]·H2O (4) exhibited interesting structural topologies (zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional (0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D, respectively)), which are mainly depending on the metal ions and the solvents used in the synthesis. The single-crystal analysis of these newly synthesized compounds revealed that 1 was a 0D molecule, 2 has 1D chains, 3 was a 3D molecule, and 4 has 2D layers. All compounds were further characterized using thermogravimetric analysis, solid-state (31)P NMR, powder X-ray diffraction analysis, UV-vis spectra, and infrared spectroscopy. In addition, Eu(III)- and Tb(III)-doped compounds of 1-4, namely, (H2NMe2)4[Ln(x)Mg(1-x)(hedpH2)2(hedpH(2-x))]·3H2O (1Ln), (H2NMe2)2[Ln(x)Ca(1-x)(hedpH2)(hedpH(2-x))] (2Ln), (H2NMe2)2[Ln(x)Sr(3-x)(hedpH2)3(hedpH(2-x))(H2O)2] (3Ln), and [Ln(x)Ba(3-x)(hedpH2)2(hedpH(2-x))]·H2O (4Ln) (where Ln = Eu, Tb), were synthesized, and their photoluminescence properties were studied. The quantum yield of 1Eu-4Eu was measured with reference to commercial red phosphor, Y2O2S:Eu(3+) (YE), and the quantum yield of terbium-doped compounds 1Tb-4Tb was measured with reference to commercial green-emitting phosphor CeMgAl10O17:Tb(3+). Interestingly, the compound 2Eu showed very high quantum yield of 92.2%, which is better than that of the reference commercial red phosphor, YE (90.8%).

Amines immobilized double-walled silica nanotubes for CO2 capture

Novel silica support has been required for high amine loading and good CO2 molecule diffusion into its pores to increase the performance of CO2 adsorbents. Herein, amine groups supported on double-walled silica nanotubes (DWSNTs) have been prepared via the immobilization of various aminosilanes (primary, secondary, tertiary, di-, and tri-aminosilanes) on DWSNT, and found to be a very effective adsorbent for CO2 capture. Amine groups immobilized DWSNTs captured CO2 reversibly in a temperature swing process at various adsorption temperatures (25°C, 50°C, 75°C, and 100°C). The amines on modified DWSNTs showed high CO2 capture capacity in the order of tri-, di-, primary, secondary, and tertiary amines. The CO2 capture capacity of all aminosilanes immobilized DWSNTs decreased linearly with the increase of the adsorption temperature. We expect that DWSNT would be able to inspire researchers to use it not only as a support for CO2 capture but also as a promising candidate for various applications.