Jaeho Kim , Kihyuk Sung , Ju-Hyung Chae , In-Hwan Lee , Hye-Young Jang
{"title":"Zn-gallate catalyzed synthesis of high-performance CO2-polymers with tunable composition and architecture","authors":"Jaeho Kim , Kihyuk Sung , Ju-Hyung Chae , In-Hwan Lee , Hye-Young Jang","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address the urgent need for CO<sub>2</sub> utilization in climate change mitigation, this study presents a highly efficient Zn-gallate catalyzed polymer synthesis, directly incorporating CO<sub>2</sub> alongside lactide and propylene oxide. This versatile catalyst facilitates both one-step random and sequential polymerization strategies, providing access to a diverse range of CO<sub>2</sub>-polymers. By precisely controlling composition and architecture, we synthesized random terpolymers, incorporating CO<sub>2</sub>, with catalytic activities of 1.7–3.6 kg/g-cat and 9.4 − 36 wt% PLA, and block copolymers involving CO<sub>2</sub> with catalytic activities of 0.7–3.0 kg/g-cat and 15 − 76 wt% PLA. These precisely tailored CO<sub>2</sub>-polymers display their potential to replace fossil-fuel-derived plastics like LDPE.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103114"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144068732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sang-Hyeok Kim , Seolhwa Yun , Jung-Hyun Lee , Il-Hyun Baek , Sung-Chan Nam , Jong Tak Jang
{"title":"Coke formation and utilization during coke oven gas reforming–CO2 splitting cycles over spherical SrFeO3 pellets for syngas and CO production","authors":"Sang-Hyeok Kim , Seolhwa Yun , Jung-Hyun Lee , Il-Hyun Baek , Sung-Chan Nam , Jong Tak Jang","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103112","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103112","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Spherical SrFeO<sub>3</sub> pellets are used for effective syngas and CO production during coke oven gas reforming (COGR) and CO<sub>2</sub> splitting (CS), exhibiting a high CH<sub>4</sub> oxidation activity and suppressing reduction by H<sub>2</sub> and CO during methane reforming (MR). Above 850 °C, MR produces H<sub>2</sub>-rich syngas through simultaneous reduction and CH<sub>4</sub> decomposition reactions. For sequential CS, CO production is amplified owing to the co-occurrence of CO<sub>2</sub> splitting and reverse Boudouard reactions. The redox reaction time is optimized to realize MR–CS cycling with a high redox stability and coke utilization efficiency. From the third MR–CS cycle onward, the reoxidation percentage exceeds 96.4 %, consistent with crystal structure evolution. Amorphous carbon is deposited on SrFeO<sub>3−<em>δ</em></sub> via the decomposition of CH<sub>4</sub> during MR, and the content of this carbon remains constant after the 10th MR–CS cycle because of its high reactivity toward CO<sub>2</sub>. Over 10 COGR–CS cycles, superior coke utilization due to the occurrence of the reverse Boudouard reaction during COGR results in stable syngas and CO production from the second cycle onward.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103112"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144068812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cu/ZnO catalysts integrated with Al2O3 and/or SiO2 for methanol synthesis: Deciphering the additive-induced boost in catalytic performance by XAFS","authors":"Kosei Iwasaki , Yuya Ashida , Daiju Matsumura , Kotaro Kawakami , Kana Shibuya , Masaru Tazawa , Takuya Tsuji , Hajime Shimizu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103111","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103111","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of active, long-lived methanol synthesis catalysts can be expedited by thoroughly understanding the operating mechanisms of promoter additives. SiO<sub>2</sub> serves as an effective support and promoter for Cu/ZnO-type methanol synthesis catalysts; however, it has not been studied as extensively as the industrially predominant Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, despite being similarly potent. Therefore, we conducted X-ray absorption fine structure studies to probe the effects of incorporating Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and SiO<sub>2</sub> additives into Cu/ZnO-based heterogeneous catalysts. The results revealed that the additive elements primarily affected the ability of the Zn species to generate oxygen vacancies by distorting the local structure around element-doped ZnO and that the number of oxygen vacancies correlated to the catalytic activity. Additionally, the oxygen vacancies in ZnO in the Al/Si-incorporated catalysts diminished under catalytic reaction conditions, thereby providing information on the deactivation of catalytic reactions. Our findings can facilitate the development of highly active industrial-grade methanol synthesis catalysts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103111"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143942503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Polyurethane foam lightweight concrete: Preparation, CO2 fixation properties and mechanism","authors":"Ping Jiang, Fuping Wang, Na Li, Wei Wang, Baozhong Wang, Pengfei Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103109","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103109","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To enhance the carbon sequestration of concrete and the mechanical properties of polyurethane foam concrete (PFC), a novel formulation was developed using ordinary Portland cement, basalt stone powder, diphenylmethane diisocyanate, and polyether polyol. This study investigated the optimized production of PFC and its CO<sub>2</sub> capture efficiency. The optimal polyurethane crosslinking was achieved with a specific diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) to polyether polyol (PP) ratio, resulting in PFC with ideal densities for structural applications. Comprehensive testing after a curing period of 48 hours yielded a maximum compressive strength of 9.16 MPa and an improved flexural strength of 4.3 MPa, demonstrating the formulation's effectiveness. Thermogravimetric analysis highlighted the CO<sub>2</sub> absorption capacities of PFC at various densities. Furthermore, an accelerated carbonization study revealed significant depth increases within the initial 8 hours. Microstructural analysis confirmed that lower-density PFC samples exhibited enhanced carbonization, with notable increases in CaCO<sub>3</sub> content, suggesting improved carbon sequestration potential. These findings indicate that the tailored PFC formulation not only strengthens material properties but also contributes to environmental sustainability by effectively capturing CO<sub>2</sub>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103109"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143937871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A novel gravimetric method for characterization of nanoporous materials using CO₂","authors":"Omer Salim, Sagar Hussain Sabuz, Mohammad Piri","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103117","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103117","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanoporous materials are widely used in applications such as gas storage, catalysis, and separation processes, where accurate characterization of pore structure is essential. This study presents a novel gravimetric method that utilizes carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a probe gas for determining surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution. Unlike traditional nitrogen (N₂) adsorption techniques, which rely on volumetric measurements at cryogenic temperatures and are limited by low saturation pressure and larger molecular size, this method operates at near-ambient temperatures and elevated pressures, leveraging CO₂'s smaller kinetic diameter and higher adsorption energy to achieve improved pore accessibility. The adsorption data, obtained using both gravimetric and volumetric methods, were analyzed and used to calculate the characterization parameters for six samples of MCM-41 and SBA-16. These measurements were further validated through complementary characterization techniques, including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results demonstrate the superior precision of the gravimetric method in capturing fine structural details and show encouraging agreement with vendor-supplied specifications. This highlights the potential of the proposed method for use in broad applications such as gas storage, energy, and environmental technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103117"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143942502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Krzysztof Mech , Patrycja Kolbusz , Andrzej Sławek , Mateusz Marzec , Edit Csapó
{"title":"Electrodeposited copper-cuprite layers modified with rGO for light-supported conversion of CO2 to methane and ethylene","authors":"Krzysztof Mech , Patrycja Kolbusz , Andrzej Sławek , Mateusz Marzec , Edit Csapó","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103106","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103106","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cu-Cu<sub>2</sub>O-rGO composite layers were electrodeposited for the first time from alkaline copper(II) lactate-based electrolytes containing dispersed rGO flakes. The properties of electrodeposited composite materials are strongly affected by applied potentials. Obtained layers were investigated towards their catalytic activity in electro- and photoelectrochemical artificial CO<sub>2</sub>-based synthesis of hydrocarbons. The effect of applied potential on the morphology, crystallographic structure, band gap, and conduction and valence band location was investigated. The catalytic performance of the electrodeposited layers was analyzed in CO<sub>2</sub>-saturated KHCO<sub>3</sub> electrolyte under the dark and at light illumination applying different conversion potentials. The stability of the obtained layers was analysed based on XPS and XAS results. Maximal Faradaic efficiencies for methane and ethylene formation were achieved in the presence of light and amounted to 10 and 9.91%, respectively. Reported results indicate that the presence of rGO in deposited layers significantly affects the band structure of electrodeposited layers. It was also observed that even slight modification of electrodeposition or conversion potential results in noticeable differences in Faradaic efficiency corresponding to hydrocarbons formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103106"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143937869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Seokgu Gang , Ingu Kang , Jeonghwan Lee , Jongwon Jung
{"title":"Effect of surface-treated silica nanofluid on supercritical CO2 injection efficiency: Application to deep saline aquifers","authors":"Seokgu Gang , Ingu Kang , Jeonghwan Lee , Jongwon Jung","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103103","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103103","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Deep saline aquifers are well-established as highly suitable for geological carbon sequestration because of their significantly greater storage capacity than other storage layers, such as depleted gas or oil reservoirs and coal seams. The use of additives, including surfactants and nanofluids, has been identified as a promising approach to mitigate the reduction in injection and storage efficiency caused by capillary forces between immiscible fluids in porous media during carbon dioxide injection into deep saline aquifers. This study analyzed the interfacial tension and wettability (contact angle) characteristics of carbon dioxide in the presence of nanofluids containing surface-treated SiO<sub>2</sub>-based nanoparticles. The injection characteristics were also evaluated through experimental and numerical methods using micromodels and pore network modeling. The results indicate that nanofluids effectively reduce interfacial tension and enhance wettability. Injection efficiency increased as the nanofluid concentration increased from 0 wt% to 1 wt% under low supercritical CO<sub>2</sub> injection velocity conditions, with a slight upward trend observed at higher concentrations. Sensitivity analysis conducted via pore network modeling revealed that the injection efficiency was more significantly influenced by interfacial tension than by wettability. Furthermore, the injection efficiency improvements observed in the numerical models were closely aligned with the trends observed in the micromodel experiments. These results demonstrate that the surface-treated SiO<sub>2</sub> based nanofluids used in this study can significantly enhance the injection efficiency of geological carbon sequestration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103103"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143937870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frank Radosits , Alexander Bartik , Amela Ajanovic , Stefan Müller
{"title":"Production costs and greenhouse gas mitigation potential of hydrogen-enhanced biomethane and bio-SNG production","authors":"Frank Radosits , Alexander Bartik , Amela Ajanovic , Stefan Müller","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103105","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103105","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As part of the European Green Deal, the EU aims to defossilize the gas sector. The utilization of hydrogen-enhanced biomethane and bio-SNG production can significantly decrease the carbon footprint of energy production and consumption, contributing to global efforts to combat climate change. A central part of this work is the cost minimization of a hybrid energy model supplying electricity to an alkaline electrolyzer for hydrogen production. The novelty of this work lies in the linear optimization of the yearly electricity costs based on a previous study. The results are promising in comparison to the existing literature. Although the production costs increased against the biomass-based reference cases, the costs of enhanced production are lower than in many power-to-gas concepts where CO<sub>2</sub> is first captured and then used for synthetic methane production. The results of the GHG mitigation potential showed that hydrogen integration has the potential to contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation in the EU.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"97 ","pages":"Article 103105"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143922318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohamad Kanso, Carlos Eduardo Robles-Rodriguez, Ligia Tiruta-Barna
{"title":"CO2 as an alternative carbon source for ethanol production: A simulation-based technical and environmental analysis","authors":"Mohamad Kanso, Carlos Eduardo Robles-Rodriguez, Ligia Tiruta-Barna","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103108","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103108","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Three ethanol production scenarios from CO<sub>2</sub> are analyzed: (S1) syngas catalytic conversion; (S2) syngas fermentation; and (S3) bio-conversion of CO₂ with H₂. These three scenarios were simulated in ProSimPlus® software, using flue gas from cement production and biogas as CO<sub>2</sub> sources. Technological performance and environmental impacts evaluated through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method were analyzed. Chemical absorption (CA) and membrane separation (MS) are utilized for carbon capture, while hydrogen is generated by electrolysis. When considering flue gas and CA, scenario S1_CA yielded the lowest ethanol production (0.110 kg/kg-CO<sub>2</sub>) but the highest energy consumption: 130 MJ electricity/kg-ethanol and 73 MJ heat/kg ethanol. Contrarily, S3_CA achieved the highest ethanol production (0.345 kg/kg-CO<sub>2</sub>) with energy consumption comparable to S2 (86 MJ electricity/kg-ethanol and 20 MJ heat/kg-ethanol). S1 demonstrated the lowest global warming impact (GWP100) with values of –8.60 kg CO₂-eq per kg ethanol for CA (S1_CA) and –10.13 kg CO₂-eq for MS (S1_MS). S1 outperformed both S2 (CA: 0.13 kg CO₂-eq, MS: –0.83 kg CO₂-eq) and S3 (CA: –0.43 kg CO₂-eq, MS: –1.00 kg CO₂-eq). When biogas was used, S3_CA exhibited the lowest impact: 3.00 kg CO₂-eq, compared to S2_CA: 6.36 kg CO₂-eq and S1_CA: 4.10 kg CO₂-eq. S1_MS and S3_MS have close results: 2.34 and 2.44 kg CO₂-eq, respectively, much lower than S2_MS (5.22 kg CO₂-eq). When considering the end-of-life with ethanol combustion, GWP100 results of flue gas-based scenarios become similar (S1) or worse (S2, S3) than current crop/vegetable fermentation production routes, while biogas-based scenarios strongly depend on fugitive emissions control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 103108"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143918255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giuseppe Battaglia, Michela Cardella, Alessandro Tamburini, Andrea Cipollina, Giorgio Micale
{"title":"Exploitation of seawater brines for the production of Nesquehonite solids and CO2 utilization","authors":"Giuseppe Battaglia, Michela Cardella, Alessandro Tamburini, Andrea Cipollina, Giorgio Micale","doi":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103101","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103101","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The simultaneous utilization of waste CO<sub>2</sub> streams and bivalent rich saline solutions is a crucial opportunity to face climate change challenges. Several authors have investigated desalination seawater brines as promising sources of bivalent solutions for CO<sub>2</sub> utilization technologies. However, the Mg<sup>2 +</sup> and Ca<sup>2+</sup> content in brines affects the purity of the synthesized compounds. In this context, the present work thoroughly assesses, for the first time, the direct and indirect mineral carbonation processes of real highly concentrated Mg<sup>2+</sup>-rich saline solutions (bitterns), the latter being the by-products of the evaporation process of seawater or desalination brines in saltworks or evaporative ponds. For comparison, the indirect carbonation process of real desalination brines was also explored. The bittern had Mg<sup>2+</sup> and Ca<sup>2+</sup> concentrations of ∼2.00 mol/L and ∼0.004 mol/L, while ∼0.13 mol/L and ∼0.025 mol/L were those in the desalination brine, respectively. Carbonation tests were conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a (semi-)batch reactor. The high concentration of Mg<sup>2+</sup> and the almost absence of Ca<sup>2+</sup> in the bittern allowed (i) the production of highly pure Nesquehonite solids (purity ∼99 %) and (ii) almost doubling the CO<sub>2</sub> yield (from 23 % to 37 %) through the direct carbonation approach against the indirect one.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of CO2 Utilization","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 103101"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143906559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}