Biomass derived porous carbon for CO2 capture

Nitrogen-doped porous carbons obtained from coconut shell by urea modification and KOH activation are found to exhibit very high CO2 uptake at 1 bar, almost 5 mmol g–1 at 25 °C and over 7 mmol g–1 at 0 °C, respectively. The high CO2 uptake of the sorbent can be ascribed to its high microporosity and nitrogen content. In addition, these sorbents possess high CO2/N2 selectivity, stable cyclic ability, high initial heat of CO2 adsorption, fast adsorption kinetics, and high dynamic CO2 capture capacity under simulated flue gas conditions. When combined with the low cost of the coconut-shell precursor, these properties make them exceptionally attractive sorbent candidates for CO2 capture.

Enhanced CO2 Capture Capacity of Nitrogen-Doped Biomass-Derived Porous Carbons

Carbon-based functional materials hold the key for solving global challenges in the areas of water scarcity and the energy crisis. Although carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene have shown promising results in various fields of application, their high preparation cost and low production yield still dramatically hinder their wide practical applications. Therefore, there is an urgent call for preparing carbon-based functional materials from low-cost, abundant, and sustainable sources. Recent innovative strategies have been developed to convert various waste materials into valuable carbon-based functional materials. These waste-derived carbon-based functional materials have shown great potential in many applications, especially as sorbents for water remediation and electrodes for energy storage. Here, the research progress in the preparation of waste-derived carbon-based functional materials is summarized, along with their applications in water remediation and energy storage; challenges and future research directions in this emerging research field are also discussed.

Carbon-Based Functional Materials Derived from Waste for Water Remediation and Energy Storage.

Single step synthesis of activated bio-carbons with a high surface area and their excellent CO2 adsorption capacity

This article reports on the synthesis and characterization of porous nitrogen-doped carbons synthesized by carbonization of coconut shell followed by urea modification and K2CO3 activation. The as-synthesized samples were carefully characterized by various techniques. This series of samples demonstrate high CO2 uptake at 1bar, up to 3.71mmol/g at 25°C in addition to 5.12mmol/g at 0°C. Furthermore, these sorbents possess fast CO2 adsorption kinetics, stable reusability, moderate heat of CO2 adsorption, reasonable CO2/N2 selectivity, and high dynamic CO2 capture capacity under simulated flue gas conditions. It is found that, in addition to nitrogen content and narrow micropore volume, the pore size distribution of narrow micropore also plays a major role in determining the CO2 capture capacity under ambient condition. This work is intended to provide useful information and to inspire ways to develop new carbonaceous sorbents for removing CO2 from combustion flue gas.

Zhiming Li

Papers

Enhanced CO2 Capture Capacity of Nitrogen-Doped Biomass-Derived Porous Carbons

A new nanoporous nitrogen-doped highly-efficient carbonaceous CO2 sorbent synthesized with inexpensive urea and petroleum coke

Tetraethylenepentamine modified protonated titanate nanotubes for CO2 capture