About this Research Topic

Background

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is attracting considerable attention as a new way to turn CO2 from industrial and power plants flue gases into biofuels and green chemical intermediates . Research initiatives within the past few years have led to the concretization of capture processes able to effectively separate CO2 from a mixture of emitted gaseous streams, whilst achieving the targeted levels of purity with low energy penalty. In terms of CO2 sinks, while CO2 storage is the only option that can meet the scale of the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) ambition, CO2 utilization creates a revenue stream often critical for the realization of CCUS project. However, identifying and developing CO2 utilization pathways to fuel and chemicals that are environmentally friendly, create economic value, and which can utilize large quantities of CO2, remain a challenge.

Converting CO2 to valuable fuel or chemicals can be a significant opportunity to get CCUS started and has this been an on-the-rise solution to global warming and more sustainable fuels and materials. However, due to the thermal stability of CO2, converting CO2 in fuel and chemicals can be energy intensive, thus making it challenging to balance value creation and effective CO2 emissions reduction.

From this is born the motivation to form a comprehensive picture of the knowledge on the current advances in CO2 capture and conversion techniques.

This Research Topic aims to gather current knowledge and pressing questions about CO2 capture and conversion to fuels and chemicals. Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Methods and Opinion will be welcome. Subjects areas welcomed include, but are not limited to, the following aspects:
• CO2 separation techniques: absorption, membranes, adsorption, cryogenic, etc.
• CO2 conversion: photocatalytic, thermal, chemical, etc…
• CO2 utilisation from industrial plants
• Direct Air Capture (DAC) and CO2 utilization
• Techno-economic and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of CO2 separation and/or conversion

Keywords: CCUS, CO2 capture, CO2 utilization, techno-economic analysis, Life Cycle Analysis

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