Novel bio-based solvents for CO2 removal through physical absorption

Physical absorption is one of the most applied and efficient methods for CO₂ removal and it is primarily employed for CO₂ separation from industrial gases, such as natural gas and syngas. This work aims at analyzing novel eco-friendly physical solvents, seeking potential environmentally sustainable alternatives to conventional solvents such as methanol, poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether, propylene carbonate and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. An extensive bibliographic review has been carried out to identify suitable solvents that have been evaluated based on their physical properties, interaction between their functional groups and CO₂, potential production methods from biomass and properties such as Lethal Dose 50, Lethal Concentration 50, octanol-water partition coefficient and Ames mutagenicity. Finally, experimental data on the viscosity of these solvents and on CO₂ solubility in them have been reviewed to identify few suitable candidates that will be subject to further investigation from both an experimental and modelling point of view.