Issue 7, 2012

Air as the renewable carbon source of the future: an overview of CO2 capture from the atmosphere

Abstract

The burning of our diminishing fossil fuel reserves is accompanied by a large anthropogenic CO2 release, which is outpacing nature's CO2 recycling capability, causing significant environmental harm. Much is being done to avert this crisis including more efficient technology for usage, savings and replacing carbon fuels with alternatives whenever feasible. The capture of CO2 followed by sequestration (CCS) into geologic formation or under the seas has also been proposed and in some cases implemented. Carbon capture and recycling (CCR) to fuels and materials is another promising approach. At first, capturing carbon dioxide from concentrated sources such as fossil fuel burning power plants, industrial plants and natural sources might be the most practical. However, the capture of CO2 from the atmosphere is also technically feasible despite its low concentration (∼390 ppm) and presents even some benefits compared to point source CO2 capture. The present article reviews methods developed for the capture of CO2 directly from the air as well as their advantages and drawbacks. While strong bases such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide could be used, their regeneration is energy intensive, requiring high temperatures. Amines either physically or chemically immobilized on solid supports require much lower temperatures for their regeneration and are therefore promising candidates.

Graphical abstract: Air as the renewable carbon source of the future: an overview of CO2 capture from the atmosphere

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
09 Mar 2012
Accepted
01 May 2012
First published
01 May 2012

Energy Environ. Sci., 2012,5, 7833-7853

Air as the renewable carbon source of the future: an overview of CO2 capture from the atmosphere

A. Goeppert, M. Czaun, G. K. Surya Prakash and G. A. Olah, Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 7833 DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21586A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements