The escalating level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our age. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) from large point sources such as power plants is one option for reducing anthropogenic CO(2) emissions; however, currently the capture alone will increase the energy requirements of a plant by 25-40%. This Review highlights the challenges for capture technologies which have the greatest likelihood of reducing CO(2) emissions to the atmosphere, namely postcombustion (predominantly CO(2)/N(2) separation), precombustion (CO(2)/H(2)) capture, and natural gas sweetening (CO(2)/CH(4)). The key factor which underlies significant advancements lies in improved materials that perform the separations. In this regard, the most recent developments and emerging concepts in CO(2) separations by solvent absorption, chemical and physical adsorption, and membranes, amongst others, will be discussed, with particular attention on progress in the burgeoning field of metal-organic frameworks.

Carbon Dioxide Capture: Prospects for New Materials

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is broadly recognised as having the potential to play a key role in meeting climate change targets, delivering low carbon heat and power, decarbonising industry and, more recently, its ability to facilitate the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. However, despite this broad consensus and its technical maturity, CCS has not yet been deployed on a scale commensurate with the ambitions articulated a decade ago. Thus, in this paper we review the current state-of-the-art of CO2 capture, transport, utilisation and storage from a multi-scale perspective, moving from the global to molecular scales. In light of the COP21 commitments to limit warming to less than 2 °C, we extend the remit of this study to include the key negative emissions technologies (NETs) of bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), and direct air capture (DAC). Cognisant of the non-technical barriers to deploying CCS, we reflect on recent experience from the UK's CCS commercialisation programme and consider the commercial and political barriers to the large-scale deployment of CCS. In all areas, we focus on identifying and clearly articulating the key research challenges that could usefully be addressed in the coming decade.

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Carbon capture and storage (CCS): the way forward

Protic Ionic Liquids: Properties and Applications

Advances in CO2 capture technology—The U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Sequestration Program ☆

In recent years, Carbon Capture and Storage (Sequestration) (CCS) has been proposed as a potential method to allow the continued use of fossil-fuelled power stations whilst preventing emissions of CO2 from reaching the atmosphere. Gas, coal (and biomass)-fired power stations can respond to changes in demand more readily than many other sources of electricity production, hence the importance of retaining them as an option in the energy mix. Here, we review the leading CO2 capture technologies, available in the short and long term, and their technological maturity, before discussing CO2 transport and storage. Current pilot plants and demonstrations are highlighted, as is the importance of optimising the CCS system as a whole. Other topics briefly discussed include the viability of both the capture of CO2 from the air and CO2 reutilisation as climate change mitigation strategies. Finally, we discuss the economic and legal aspects of CCS.

Carbon capture and storage update

This work presents the results of solubility measurements for a series of gases in 1-n-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate and 1-n-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide. The gases considered include benzene, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ethylene, ethane, oxygen, and carbon monoxide. Carbon dioxide and oxygen solubilities are also reported in methyl-tributylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, butyl-methyl pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, and tri-isobutyl-methyl phosphonium p-toluenesulfonate. We report the associated Henry's constants and enthalpies and entropies of absorption. In general, benzene, followed by carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, have the highest solubilities and strongest interactions with the ionic liquids, followed by ethylene and ethane. Oxygen had very low solubilities and weak interactions. Carbon monoxide had a solubility below the detection limit of our apparatus. Ionic liquids with the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ani...

Anion Effects on Gas Solubility in Ionic Liquids

Previously we showed that CO2 could be used to extract organic molecules from ionic liquids without contamination of the ionic liquid. Consequently a number of other groups demonstrated that ionic liquid/CO2 biphasic systems could be used for homogeneously catalyzed reactions. Large differences in the solubility of various gases in ionic liquids present the possibility of using them for gas separations. More recently we and others have shown that the presence of CO2 increases the solubility of other gases that are poorly soluble in the ionic liquid phase. Therefore, a knowledge and understanding of the phase behavior of these ionic liquid/CO2 systems is important. With the aim of finding ionic liquids that improve CO2 solubility and gaining more information to help us understand how to design CO2-philic ionic liquids, we present the low- and high-pressure measurements of CO2 solubility in a range of ionic liquids possessing structures likely to increase the solubility of CO2. We examined the CO2 solubilit...

Improving carbon dioxide solubility in ionic liquids.

Phase transition and decomposition temperatures, heat capacities and viscosities of pyridinium ionic liquids

The solubilities of gases in ionic liquids are important in evaluating ionic liquids as solvents for reactions involving permanent gases, as gas storage media, and as solvents for gas separations Gas solubilities are also important in developing methods to separate solutes from ionic liquid solutions Here we describe our measurements of the solubilities of CO2, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, O2, and N2 in 1-hexyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and compare these results to our previous investigations In addition, focus is placed on efforts to tailor ionic liquids to enhance the solubilities of some gases, with particular emphasis on carbon dioxide

Solubility of CO2, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, O2, and N2 in 1-hexyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide: comparison to other ionic liquids.

Measurements of the solubility of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the ionic liquids 1-n-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([hmim][Tf2N]) and 1-n-hexyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([hmpy][Tf2N]) at temperatures from 25 to 60 °C and pressures up to 4 bar indicate that large amounts (up to 85 mol %) of SO2 dissolve in ionic liquids by simple physical absorption.

Jessica L. Anderson

Papers

Anion Effects on Gas Solubility in Ionic Liquids

Improving carbon dioxide solubility in ionic liquids.

Phase transition and decomposition temperatures, heat capacities and viscosities of pyridinium ionic liquids

Solubility of CO2, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, O2, and N2 in 1-hexyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide: comparison to other ionic liquids.

Measurement of SO2 solubility in ionic liquids.