Reducing greenhouse gas emissions with a more effective carbon capture method

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions with a more effective carbon capture method


T. Alan Hatton and colleagues note that although industry and governments are increasingly turning to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, the world will continue to rely on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future—but at a cost. According to the International Energy Agency, burning emits more than 30 gigatons per year of CO2, a primary greenhouse gas. Some solid systems that aim to capture these emissions, such as zeolites, are sensitive to water in the gas streams. Others, such as clays and metal oxides, have to be heated up to more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit, which requires a lot of energy. Hatton's team wanted to find a way to cut this latter strategy's energy requirements.


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Promising new aqueous approach to carbon capture

More information: Alkali Metal Nitrate-Promoted High-Capacity MgO Adsorbents for Regenerable CO2 Capture at Moderate Temperatures, Chem. Mater., Article ASAP
DOI: 10.1021/cm503295g

Regenerable high capacity CO2 sorbents are desirable for the establishment of widespread carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems to reduce global CO2 emissions. We report on the marked effects of molten alkali metal nitrates on CO2 uptake by MgO particles and their impact on the development of highly regenerable CO2 adsorbents with high capacity (>10.2 mmol g–1) at moderate temperatures (∼300 °C) under ambient pressure. The molten alkali metal nitrates are shown to prevent the formation of a rigid, CO2-impermeable, unidentate carbonate layer on the surfaces of MgO particles and promote the rapid generation of carbonate ions to allow the high rate of CO2 uptake.

Journal information: Chemistry of Materials

Citation: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions with a more effective carbon capture method (2015, March 4) retrieved 14 August 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2015-03-greenhouse-gas-emissions-effective-carbon.html

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