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This study investigates the synthesize of activated carbon for carbon dioxide adsorption using palm kernel shell (PKS), a by-product of oil palm industry. The adsorbent synthesis involved a simple two-step carbonization method. Firstly, PKS was activated with potassium oxide (KOH), followed by functionalization with magnesium oxide (MgO). Surface analysis revealed that KOH activated PKS has resulted in a high specific surface area of 1086 m2/g compared to untreated PKS (435 m2/g). However, impregnation of MgO resulted in the reduction of surface area due to blockage of pores by MgO. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that PKS-based adsorbents exhibited minimal weight loss of less than 30% up to 500 °C, indicating their suitability for high-temperature applications. CO2 adsorption experiments revealed that PKS-AC-MgO has achieved a higher adsorption capacity of 155.35 mg/g compared to PKS-AC (149.63 mg/g) at 25 °C and 5 bars. The adsorption behaviour of PKS-AC-MgO was well fitted by both the Sips and Langmuir isotherms, suggesting a combination of both heterogeneous and homogeneous adsorption and indicating a chemical reaction between MgO and CO2. Thermodynamic analysis indicated a spontaneous and thermodynamically favourable process for CO2 capture by PKS-AC-MgO, with negative change in enthalpy (− 0.21 kJ/mol), positive change in entropy (2.44 kJ/mol), and negative change in Gibbs free energy (− 729.61 J/mol, − 790.79 J/mol, and − 851.98 J/mol) across tested temperature. Economic assessment revealed that the cost of PKS-AC-MgO is 21% lower than the current market price of commercial activated carbon, indicating its potential for industrial application. Environmental assessment shows a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (381.9 tCO2) through the utilization of PKS-AC-MgO, underscoring its environmental benefits. In summary, the use of activated carbon produced from PKS and functionalised with MgO shows great potential for absorbing CO2. This aligns with the ideas of a circular economy and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, commercial Norit® SX2 activated carbon has been evaluated as a solid adsorbent for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture at the post-combustion conditions, which are at an ambient pressure and low temperatures (< 120 o C). The CO 2 equilibrium adsorption capacity is assessed through a static volumetric technique. This solid adsorbent is characterized in terms of elemental analysis, nitrogen physisorption, as well as surface morphology. The CO 2 adsorptive property of the commercial Norit® SX2 demonstrates a reduction in the amount of CO 2 adsorbed at an elevated temperature, and accordingly, it indicates that CO 2 adsorption is a physical adsorption process and demonstrates a behavior of an exothermic reaction, which consistent with the thermodynamics analysis. Different isotherm models are applied to mathematically model the CO 2 adsorption, and on basis of the regression coefficient (R 2 ), the Freundlich model provides a perfect fit to the experimental data, owing to closeness of the R 2 to unity. The result obtained in this study can serve as a benchmark while searching for inexpensive and superior activated carbon production in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration in the ambient air has become the key factor in the pace of temperature rise, and accordingly, is a primary contributor towards global warming scenario. In view of this, the quick mitigation efforts associated with capturing CO 2 from fossil fuel combustion source must be implemented to alleviate environmental catastrophic events in future. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to review the role and performances of activated carbon in capturing anthropogenic CO 2 flue gas prior to emission to air. Throughout this paper, the activated carbons which were proposed to be a separation medium for CO 2 capture are evaluated in terms of equilibrium adsorption capacity as well as the surface modification. The utilization of the activated carbons instead of current state-of-art technology, which is the chemical absorption is promising as it avoids higher energy penalty encountered in regeneration process and the consumption of corrosive chemical such as aqueous amine-based solvent. In addition, the investigation on the potential of activated carbons for post-combustion CO 2 capture is expected to confer scientists with critical information related to the future direction of the activated carbons in an industrial application, and as an alternative to conventional amine scrubbing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: CO2 (Carbon dioxide) emissions are one of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The power generation industry is one of the main emitters of CO2, and the emissions are expected to increase in the coming years as there seems to be no abatement in the consumption of fossil fuels for the production of electricity. Thus, there is a need for CO2 adsorption technologies to mitigate the emissions. However, there are several disadvantages associated with the current adsorption technologies. One of the issues is corrosion and the need for specialized equipment. Therefore, alternative and more sustainable materials are sought after to improve the viability of the adsorption technology. In this study, several types of agricultural wastes were used as activated carbon precursors for CO2 adsorption process in a TGA (thermogravimetric analyser). The adsorption was also modelled through a pseudo-first order and second order model, Elovich's kinetic model, and an intra-particle diffusion model. From the correlation coefficient, it was found that pseudo-second order model was well-fitted with the kinetic data. In addition, activation energy below than 42 kJ/mol confirmed that the physisorption process occurred. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aims to develop an inexpensive, environmentally-friendly adsorbent for capturing CO 2 using coconut shells, widely abundant in Asian agricultural waste. The raw coconut shell adsorbent (CS) has undergone dual functionalization utilizing Chlorella microalgae and magnesium oxide (MgO) to enhance its physicochemical properties. Through dual functionalization, minimizing the loss of surface area and reducing the temperature sensitivity often occurring during CO 2 adsorption is possible. The surface morphology, functional groups, and thermochemical properties of CS-hydrochar were characterized and evaluated. The characterization demonstrates the successful development of the ternary composite (HCS-A-Mg), with a specific surface area of 1045 m2/g and containing nitrogen and metal oxide functional groups. XRD analysis of HCS-A-Mg reveals crystalline peaks at 36.8°, 42.9°, and 63°, confirming the successful impregnation of MgO. The adsorption result showed that HCS-A-Mg exhibits a higher CO 2 adsorption capacity of 2.63 mmol/g, 50% higher than pristine hydrochar (HCS). The adsorption study revealed that the CO 2 adsorption capacity of HCS-A-Mg can be maximized to 3.23 mmol/g at 101 °C and 4.6 bar. Adsorption isotherms shows that the non-linear Sips model best describes the adsorption process, indicating a multilayer adsorption mechanism with profound surface heterogeneity of n = 2.3 for HCS-A-Mg, signifying higher accessibility of gas molecules deep into pores, enabling a variety of adsorption sites for CO 2 binding. Selectivity and reusability studies were conducted to validate the adsorbent applicability for industrial applications. HCS-A-Mg has higher CO 2 /N 2 selectivity by 41–57% and 0.05% loss of adsorption capacity after the 10th cyclic operation, suggesting their suitability for industrial applications. This finding underscores the potential of microalgae and magnesium oxide in advancing carbon capture technology and addressing environmental challenges. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]