A critical review on 3D-printed adsorbents, membranes, and catalysts for carbon dioxide capture, separation, and conversion

Abstract

Additive manufacturing, or 3D-printing, has emerged as a highly promising strategy for developing tailored porous structures for CO2 capture and utilization aiming at addressing challenges associated with conventional powders and pellets, such as pressure drop, attrition, slow kinetics, structural irregularities, and heat and mass transfer issues. Yet, despite promising developments made in recent years, certain limitations need to be overcome including relatively lower sorption capacities, excessive binder inclusion, and the need for optimization of printable resins and formulations as to yield scalable structures exhibiting competitive performance. This review critically evaluates the current state of research in 3D-printed materials for CO2 capture using adsorbents, CO2 conversion into valuable chemicals by heterogeneous catalysts, and CO2 separation employing membranes, and highlights the advantages witnessed over the respective conventional materials. In addition, it elucidates the persisting challenges and outlines promising avenues for future research, highlighting the pivotal role that 3D-printed materials can play in the pursuit of sustainable solutions to combat climate change.