With the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere increasing beyond sustainable limits, much research is currently focused on developing solutions to mitigate this problem. Possible strategies involve sequestering the emitted CO 2 for long-term storage deep underground, and conversion of CO 2 into value-added products. Conventional processes for each of these solutions often have high-capital costs associated and kinetic limitations in different process steps. Additionally, CO 2 is thermodynamically a very stable molecule and difficult to activate. Despite such challenges, a number of methods for CO 2 capture and conversion have been investigated including absorption, photocatalysis, electrochemical and thermochemical methods. Conventional technologies employed in these processes often suffer from low selectivity and conversion, and lack energy efficiency. Therefore, suitable process intensification techniques based on equipment, material and process development strategies can play a key role at enabling the deployment of these processes. In this review paper, the cutting-edge intensification technologies being applied in CO 2 capture and conversion are reported and discussed, with the main focus on the chemical conversion methods.

Virtual Reality (VR) games and simulations are increasingly being used to provide highly interactive, engaging and contextual learning experiences for learners in otherwise risk-prone environments, such as those obtained in chemical engineering and industrial domains. Understanding the intention of users towards this technology for education and training purposes is thus of paramount importance for academics and practitioners. This study examines the perceptions of chemical engineering students and professionals towards the use of VR games for health and safety education and training, and discusses the practical implications of findings. The study found that students and professionals believe that IVR games are useful for learning. A comparison of the two groups revealed that professionals were more accepting of the technology compared to students. Students presented concerns with the use of the technology for classroom learning. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of the findings to higher education practice.

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The growing interest in the use of digital games for education resulted in the expansion of the field of game-based learning. There have been several research on the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the use of games for learning. These studies have tried to understand what students make of the use of digital games for learning, as it is believed that the views of users and their acceptance of new technologies play a crucial role in ensuring successful outcomes. However, it is unclear whether there is any relationship between experiences, perceptions towards games and gameplay performance in a learning game. Understanding this relationship is important for game developers to effectively design and develop games, and for educators to be able to determine how to best deploy games for educational purposes. This study examines how the experiences and perceptions of engineering students towards digital games for engineering education influence their use and performance in a serious game called CosmiClean. Findings suggest that while students are enthusiastic about digital learning games, there was no relationship between their perceptions of games for learning and their gameplay performance. However, a relationship was found between the game experiences of students and their gameplay performance.

Digital games are considered relevant in higher education due to their ability to foster authentic, active and experiential learning opportunities that are of importance in engineering education. However, as a relatively new pedagogical tool, there is the need to understand the perceptions of engineering students as well as to identify factors that influence their adoption of games for learning. So far, only a few studies have investigated the perceptions of higher education students towards learning games and even fewer for engineering students. To bridge this research gap, the current study utilises a mixed-method research design to identify factors that influence the adoption of digital learning games by engineering students as well as their overall perceptions of the use of games for engineering education. Results from the analysed quantitative and qualitative data suggest that engineering students value fun and engagement as well as relevance to the curriculum as factors that would influence their intentions to use digital games for engineering education. Students also showed openness to the use of digital games for learning, but resistance to their use for assessment. These findings have implications for the design of games and classroom deployment of games, as these provide insights to game designers and educators on the factors to consider in the design and classroom deployment of games, respectively.