New methods of carbon capture using green materials

近年来，出现了一种采取紧急行动的动力，以解决全球工业化数十年来积累的排放问题。显然，需要新的燃料来减少能源供应，然而，将有一段过渡期，在此期间将继续使用化石燃料，因此，改善目前的排放对于防止大气二氧化碳(CO2)水平进一步上升至关重要。实现净零排放的努力符合联合国可持续发展目标，为从工艺流程中去除二氧化碳而开发的技术有可能实现《巴黎协定》的目标，即将后工业化时代全球气温上升限制在1.5摄氏度以内；然而，目前的技术在效率方面存在局限性，而且会产生有毒废物。因此，通过本研究寻求一种从系统开发到应用的整体过程中具有环境和经济效益的解决方案。现有的脱碳洗涤技术使用碱性胺来化学清除酸性气体，但逆转这一过程并回收二氧化碳需要付出巨大的能源代价。此外，用于生态系统的化学品的有毒排放也可能对环境造成影响。相比之下，物理捕集方法，如在无机或碳材料上的吸附，可以提供更容易的再生，但由于较弱的相互作用，可能会受到容量和选择性的影响。该项目专注于利用目前对碳材料工程的理解，结合吸附性能的表征，反复合成、测试和重新设计用于选择性吸收和储存二氧化碳的最佳加氢碳化物。加氢焦材料将从不需要的生物质中提取，提供了一种对废物进行有价化的途径。例如，这些废物将来自食物和农业废物或其他工业副产品等来源，这些来源可以通过转化为吸附剂来进行定价。选定的材料将经过水热处理，以锁定原料的多孔性并防止降解途径，产生可在循环过程中重复使用的稳定吸附剂，进一步增加工作的积极影响。

Recent years have seen a drive for urgent action to address the decades of accumulated emissions from the industrialisation of the globe. It is evident that there is a need for new fuels to decarbonise energy provision, however, there will be a period of transition during which fossil fuels will continue to be used, hence, amelioration of ongoing emissions is essential to prevent further increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. The drive for net zero aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and technologies developed for the removal of CO2 from process streams have potential to realise the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the post-industrial global temperature increase to 1.5 C; however current technologies have limitations in their efficiencies and in that they produce toxic wastes. Thus, a solution offering environmental and economic benefits in a holistic process from systems development to application is sought through this study.Existing scrubbing technologies for the removal of CO2 use basic amines to chemically scavenge the acidic gas, but there is a large energy penalty to reverse the process and recover the CO2. Alongside this there is also the potential environmental impact of toxic releases of the chemicals used to ecosystems. By comparison, physical methods of capture, such as adsorption on inorganic or carbon materials, can offer easier regeneration but can suffer from reduced capacities and selectivites by nature of the weaker interactions.The project focusses on using current understanding of carbon materials engineering, in conjunction with characterization of sorption properties, to iteratively synthesize, test and retro-engineer an optimal hydrochar for selective CO2 uptake and storage. The hydrochar materials will be derived from unwanted biomass, providing a route to valorisation of waste streams. For example, these will be from sources such as food and agricultural wastes, or other industrial by-products, which can be valorised by conversion into adsorbents. Selected materials will be subject to hydrothermal treatment to lock in the porous nature of the feedstock and prevent routes to degradation, creating stable sorbents that can be reused in cyclic processes, further increasing the positive impact of the work.