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In recent years, the deployment of chemically stable physisorbents in various water sorption-related applications has received significant attention. Depending on their structural features, different types of porous sorbents manifest distinct shapes of water sorption isotherms. The translation of water sorption profiles of adsorbents into appropriate practical applications is yet to be established. This Review gives an overview of the water adsorption studies conducted on different hydrolytically stable porous solids selected from different classes of solid-state materials (organic, inorganic, and hybrid materials). Brief analyses of the water sorption behavior and the relations to materials' intrinsic structural features are made. Based on adsorbents' observed water sorption characteristics, the prospects of their practical/commercial deployment in chosen sectors are also commented. The criteria for using porous adsorbents in specific water-related technologies, which can help guide the design and assembly of suitable water adsorbents, are also reviewed. In addition, the challenges that need to be overcome in developing efficient water vapor adsorbents for a given application are also discussed.

The production of fertilizers has been evolving steadily in the last 300 years. It involves a high number of commodities and reagents that share a large portion of the costs and emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). Phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium fertilizers components represent more than 200 million tonnes of production annually. Given that most of the fertilizer production process is dependent on fossil fuels as fuel and feedstock, the amount of CO2 generated is at least 3 tonnes CO2 per tonne of fertilizer. The introduction, in the future, of less intensive carbon technological components and lower energy-consuming separation and catalytic technologies in the fertilizers industry has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions drastically. In this review, we thoroughly analyze the GHG emissions of the fertilizers industry over time and explore pathways to achieve viable and sustainable decarbonization solutions. In the review, we also aim to explore, whenever information is available, the factors (sources) and the ranges of GHG emissions in the different value chains of fertilizer plants. As a result, an overview of the literature on GHG emissions from synthetic fertilizers (N, P, K) industries will be given. More emphasis is on emissions that stem from the extraction of raw materials to final fertilizer products (energy source, efficiency, and fertilizer type) and transportation of intermediates within different sites of the plants (vehicle type, fuel type, and efficiency). A perspective analysis on possible recommendations for future net-zero carbon emissions and carbon capture technologies is also made.

Summary Fatty acids have been broadly used as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage. However, low thermal conductivity limits their performances. This paper investigates the influence of metal oxide nanoparticle addition on myristic acid (MA) as nano‐enhanced PCM (NEPCM). Stability, chemical, and thermal properties were considered. Four types of nanoaprticles, TiO2, CuO, Al2O3, and ZnO, were dispersed in MA at 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2 wt%. Stability and dispersion were checked by sediment photograph capturing and scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive spectroscopy. The Fourier‐transformed infrared (FTIR) and X‐ray diffraction analysis confirmed no chemical interaction between the nanoparticles and MA. The results revealed a ratio of thermal conductivity of 1.50, 1.49, 1.45, and 1.37, respectively, for 2 wt% of ZnO, Al2O3, CuO, and TiO2. The T‐history method confirmed this enhancement. The latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) properties of the nano‐enhanced MA were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry. The latent heat capacities of nano‐enhanced MA samples have dropped between 9.64 and 5.01 % compared with pure MA, and phase change temperature range was not affected significantly. The NEPCM was subjected to 500 thermal cycling, it showed a good thermal reliability as LHTES properties remained unchanged, while FTIR analysis showed similar characteristics compared with uncycled samples, indicating a good chemical stability. Based on the results regarding with the LHTES properties, cycling thermal reliability, and higher thermal conductivity improvement, it can be achieved that the MA/Al2O3 (2.0 wt%) and MA/ZnO (2.0 wt%) composites could be better PCMs for solar TES applications.