Adsorbent technologies and applications for carbon capture, and direct air capture in environmental perspective and sustainable climate action

Abstract

The contribution of greenhouse gas and anthropogenic CO2 to climate change is an undeniably issue that needs urgent attention from the environmental point of view. Global warming, a consequence of continued CO2 emissions will gradually result in ecosystem disruption and drought. With the increasing problem of greenhouse gas (GHG) and the established environmentally unfriendly consequences associated with it, carbon capture and storage (CCS) was proposed as a measure to successfully reduce carbon footprints and a process of choice in proffering solutions to this challenge. To meet the Paris agreement's target of maintaining the global temperature rise below 2 °C necessitates the capture and removal of up to 20 Gt CO2 per annum by the end of the century. However, going by the current global CO2 capture and storage capacity of 0.0385 Gt CO2/annum (including the current direct air capture (DAC) capacity of 9,000 tons CO2/annum), it will take close to 21,000 years to achieve this set goal. Hence, the need to adopt sustainable low-temperature sorbent technology with efficient adsorption capabilities that will meet up with the bourgeoning operating cost and energy demand for DAC technology. In this review, sustainable and emerging adsorbent materials and technologies employed in carbon capture and storage were highlighted. Also, economic, and environmental benefits and public perception of carbon capture technology were enumerated.

Keywords

• Adsorbents
• CO2
• Greenhouse gasses
• Carbon capture and storage
• Direct air capture
• Climate change