Special Issue "Final Sinks of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)"

A special issue of Sustainable Chemistry (ISSN 2673-4079).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2021).

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rafael Santos
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Interests: CO2 sequestration and utilization; solid waste valorization; mineral synthesis; mineralogical characterization; (bio)hydrometallurgy; geochemical modeling; environmental remediation; process intensification
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Muhammad Salman
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbay, India
Interests: construction materials; concrete technology; alkali activation; geopolymerisation; mineral carbonation; slags; repair and rehablitaiton of constructed facilities
Prof. Lidija Siller
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Interests: nanoscale science and nanotechnology; CO2 capture and storage; aerogel materials; thermoelctrics; supercapacitors; nanotoxicology physics and chemistry at solid surfaces; optical, electronic and structural properties of nanoscale materials; electron and photon stimulated desorption in ices

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is the most recent term (which began with CCS) used to refer to global efforts to curb the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. In less than five years, as of July 2019, the 5-year moving average recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, has risen from just under 400 ppm to over 411 ppm.

CCUS aims to reduce anthropogenic emissions of CO2, typically by removing it from point sources, and in some cases even directly removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Capture on its own does not suffice, so utilization or storage of CO2 is necessary. Over the last two decades, many processes that convert CO2 back into fuels, or into plastics, char, etc. have been developed and reported in scientific literature, with some of these recently reaching large-scale implementation. Likewise, many approaches to storing CO2, in geological formations, such as carbonated minerals, in building materials, etc., are presently known and used.

The principles of sustainability, among its definitions, require that environmentally-friendly processes deliver long-term performance and security. This can be related to CCUS in terms of the idea of Final Sinks. We shall define a Final Sink as a sustainable Carbon Sink. This Special Issue of the journal Sustainability Chemistry seeks contributions from CCUS researchers and policy makers that can help to define and assess the Final Sinks of CCUS technologies. The following are suggested questions that we invite authors to address:

(a) What is/are the Final Sink(s) of CO2, at relevant decade-to-century timescales, for your CCUS technology?

(b) Does your CCUS approach lead to an intermediate/temporary Sink, rather than a Final Sink? How can we ensure that CO2 eventually ends up in a Final Sink, or for how long and what amount can it remain in an intermediate/temporary Sink?

(c) What can we learn about natural Carbon Sinks to design our CCUS technologies?

(d) Is the concept of a Final Sink compatible with the concept of a Circular Economy?

(e) What are the challenges of managing, monitoring and validating Final Sinks?

The editors encourage submissions of varied styles: original research articles, review papers, concept papers, short communications, technical notes, commentaries, and opinions.

Assist. Prof. Rafael Santos
Prof. Muhammad Salman
Prof. Lidija Siller
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainable Chemistry is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Unlock the Potentials to Further Improve CO2 Storage and Utilization with Supercritical CO2 Emulsions When Applying CO2-Philic Surfactants
Sustain. Chem. 2021, 2(1), 127-148; https://doi.org/10.3390/suschem2010009 - 02 Mar 2021
Viewed by 528
Abstract
Supercritical CO2 (ScCO2) emulsion has attracted lots of attention, which could benefit both climate control via CO2 storage and industry revenue through significantly increased oil recovery simultaneously. Historically, aqueous soluble surfactants have been widely used as stabilizers, though they [...] Read more.
Supercritical CO2 (ScCO2) emulsion has attracted lots of attention, which could benefit both climate control via CO2 storage and industry revenue through significantly increased oil recovery simultaneously. Historically, aqueous soluble surfactants have been widely used as stabilizers, though they suffer from slow propagation, relatively high surfactant adsorption and well injectivity issues. In contrast, the CO2-soluble surfactants could improve the emulsion performance remarkably, due to their CO2-philicity. Here, comprehensive comparison studies are carried out from laboratory experiments to field scale simulations between a commercially available aqueous soluble surfactant (CD 1045) and a proprietary nonionic CO2-philic surfactant whose solubility in ScCO2 and partition coefficient between ScCO2/Brine have been determined. Surfactant affinity to employed oil is indicated by a phase behavior test. Static adsorptions on Silurian dolomite outcrop are conducted to gain the insights of its electro-kinetic properties. Coreflooding experiments are carried out with both consolidated 1 ft Berea sandstone and Silurian dolomite to compare the performances as a result of surfactant natures under two-phase conditions, while harsher conditions are examined on fractured carbonate with presence of an oleic phase. Moreover, the superiorities of ScCO2 foam with CO2-philic surfactant due to dual phase partition capacity are illustrated with field scale simulations. ScCO2 and WAG injections behaviors are used as baselines, while the performances of two types of CO2 emulsions are compared with SAG injection, characterized by phase saturations, CO2 storage, oil production, CO2 utilization ratio and pressure distribution. A novel injection strategy, named CO2 continuous injection with dissolved surfactant (CIDS), which is unique for a CO2-philic surfactant, is also studied. It is found that the CO2-soluble surfactant displays much lower oil affinity and adsorption on carbonate than CD 1045. Furthermore, in a laboratory scale, a much higher foam propagation rate is observed with the novel surfactant, which is mainly ascribed to its CO2 affinity, assisted by the high mobility of the CO2 phase. Field scale simulations clearly demonstrate the potentials of CO2 emulsion on CO2 storage and oil recovery over conventional tertiary productions. Relative to traditional aqueous soluble surfactant emulsion, the novel surfactant emulsion contributes to higher injectivity, CO2 storage capability, oil recovery and energy utilization efficiency. The CIDS could further reduce water injection cost and energy consumption. The findings here reveal the potentials of further improving CO2 storage and utilization when applying ScCO2-philic surfactant emulsion, to compromise both environmental and economic concerns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Final Sinks of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS))
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Article
One-Pot, Metal-Free Synthesis of Dimethyl Carbonate from CO2 at Room Temperature
Sustain. Chem. 2020, 1(3), 298-314; https://doi.org/10.3390/suschem1030020 - 13 Nov 2020
Viewed by 816
Abstract
Herein, we report on the metal-free, one-pot synthesis of industrially important dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from molecular CO2 under ambient conditions. In this process, initially the CO2 was chemisorbed through the formation of a switchable ionic liquid (SIL), [DBUH] [CH3CO [...] Read more.
Herein, we report on the metal-free, one-pot synthesis of industrially important dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from molecular CO2 under ambient conditions. In this process, initially the CO2 was chemisorbed through the formation of a switchable ionic liquid (SIL), [DBUH] [CH3CO3], by the interaction of CO2 with an equivalent mixture of organic superbase 1,8-diazabicyclo-[5.4.0]-undec-7-ene (DBU) and methanol. The obtained SIL further reacted with methyl iodide (CH3I) to form DMC. The synthesis was carried out in both dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and methanol. Methanol is preferred, as it not only served as a reagent and solvent in CO2 capture and DMC synthesis, but it also assisted in controlling the side reactions between chemical species such as CH3I and [DBUH]+ cation and increased the yield of DMC. Hence, the use of methanol avoided the loss of captured CO2 and favored the formation of DMC with high selectivity. Under the applied reaction conditions, 89% of the captured CO2 was converted to DMC. DBU was obtained, achieving 86% recovery of its salts formed during the synthesis. Most importantly, in this report we describe a simple and renewable solvent-based process for a metal-free approach to DMC synthesis under industrially feasible reaction conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Final Sinks of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS))
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