(382ak) Probing the Mechanisms Underlying Reactive CO2 Capture and Mineralization Using Field-Representative Flue Gas Compositions

Advances in reactive CO₂ capture and mineralization for delivering carbon management solutions and co-producing carbonate materials for use in construction materials provide unique opportunities to advance the efficiency of heavy industries. In reactive CO₂ capture and mineralization, CO₂ is captured using amines and amino acids, and the resulting CO₂ loaded solvents are directly reacted with alkaline residues to co-produce solid carbonates while regenerating the solvents. Unlike conventional CO₂ capture or mineralization alone, the availability of basicity from the solvents and the solid residues in reactive CO₂ capture and mineralization accelerates CO₂ uptake. In this work, detailed laboratory-scale experiments of reactive CO₂ capture and mineralization are complemented with NMR investigations of the solvents to investigate the underlying molecular-scale mechanism and develop a strategy towards scale-up. Multifunctional solvents that enable selective uptake of CO2, limit SOx and NOx uptake, and enable ease of carbon mineralization, can be effectively regenerated via carbon mineralization; and can be reused over multiple cycles of operation are also identified through this effort. To summarize, this effort unlocks the mechanistic basis for choosing multifunctional solvents for reactive CO₂ capture and solvents and enables scale-up of the technology to meet industrial needs.