Supercapacitive Swing Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide: Current Status and Perspectives

Abstract

Supercapacitive swing adsorption (SSA) is a newly discovered electrochemically driven carbon dioxide capture method using the principle of electric double‐layer capacitor, which achieves the purpose of adsorption and desorption of CO2 by charging and discharging the supercapacitive electrodes. Based on this method, gas separation devices were designed which could adsorb CO2 from a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and a series of factors affecting the CO2 adsorption capacity were explored. This review briefly introduces the SSA mechanism and the structural design of SSA modules, and analyzes the factors influencing the performance of SSA from multiple aspects, with emphasis on electrode materials, in order to find ways to improve the CO2 adsorption capacity of SSA modules.

Challenges and Opportunities in Electrification of Adsorptive Separation Processes

“…Most of these processes rely on energy-intensive thermal methods like distillation and evaporation, which demand substantial energy, escalating overall energy consumption and environmental impact . Compared to legacy thermally-driven separations, adsorption offers a more efficient path to a sustainable future by lowering the energy demand and environmental footprints. , The current state-of-the-art adsorption-based separations rely essentially on pressure or temperature changes within the column to facilitate adsorption and desorption of targeted adsorbates and include pressure or vacuum swing adsorption (PSA or VSA), temperature swing adsorption (TSA), or a combination of pressure, temperature, and vacuum swing adsorption (e.g., TVSA, PTSA, VPSA). − Amidst ongoing research on conventional processes, the exploration of cutting-edge emerging mechanisms, such as electric (electrothermal) swing adsorption (ESA), electrochemical swing adsorption, supercapacitive swing adsorption (SSA), electric field swing adsorption (EFSA), magnetic induction swing adsorption (MISA), and microwave swing adsorption (MSA), as shown in Figure , offers promise and potential toward advancements in adsorptive separation field.…”

Electrode, Electrolyte, and Membrane Materials for Electrochemical CO2 Capture

“…In the last five years, major advances have been made in eCC across device designs, materials, electrolytes, and membranes with a decent emphasis on mechanism analysis with advanced characterization tools to some extent. [ 2b,5c,12a,19–22,25,34 ] During this period, various redox‐active materials (such as insoluble carbon/metal oxide as electrodes, soluble redox‐active compound dissolving in solvent as homogeneous electrolytes), as well as integrated membrane‐based electrochemical systems were demonstrated and investigated (see Figure 3).…”

“…Moreover, the energy consumption can be low (in the range of ≈20 to ≈750 kJ mol −1 ) depending on the operation modes. [ 22,45a ] However, the biggest challenge associated with capacitive CO 2 capture is the low capacity of the electrode, and the CO 2 capture capacity of the state‐of‐the‐art electrode is in the range of ≈80 to ≈500 mmol kg −1 , which is also greatly affected by the operation modes. [ 17b,53 ] More research is needed to reveal the structure‐property‐performance correlations of electrodes and electrolytes and understand the corresponding capture principle of capacitive CO 2 capture.…”

“…In 2023, Zito et al [ 12a ] gave a comprehensive summary of each electrochemical capture approach following their working mechanism, including pH‐mediated systems, electrochemically mediated amine regeneration, and capture with redox‐active molecules. In the same year, Wang and co‐workers [ 22 ] made a focused review for the first time on capacitive swing CO 2 capture, showing the development of CO 2 capture by capacitive method. Xu et al [ 23 ] focused on the aspect of bipolar membranes used for CO 2 capture as well as utilization.…”