CO2 capture using membrane contactors: a systematic literature review

Sanaa Hafeez,Tayeba Safdar,Elsa Aristodemou,Zhien Zhang,Elena Pallari,George Manos,S M Al-Salem,Achilleas Constantinou

doi:10.1007/s11705-020-1992-z

Abstract

With fossil fuel being the major source of energy, CO2 emission levels need to be reduced to a minimal amount namely from anthropogenic sources. Energy consumption is expected to rise by 48% in the next 30 years, and global warming is becoming an alarming issue which needs to be addressed on a thorough technical basis. Nonetheless, exploring CO2 capture using membrane contactor technology has shown great potential to be applied and utilised by industry to deal with post- and pre-combustion of CO2. A systematic review of the literature has been conducted to analyse and assess CO2 removal using membrane contactors for capturing techniques in industrial processes. The review began with a total of 2650 papers, which were obtained from three major databases, and then were excluded down to a final number of 525 papers following a defined set of criteria. The results showed that the use of hollow fibre membranes have demonstrated popularity, as well as the use of amine solvents for CO2 removal. This current systematic review in CO2 removal and capture is an important milestone in the synthesis of up to date research with the potential to serve as a benchmark databank for further research in similar areas of work. This study provides the first systematic enquiry in the evidence to research further sustainable methods to capture and separate CO2.

Highlights

The global energy consumption has doubled since the year 1970 predominated by fossil-based fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal [1]
They did not provide enough parameters to be included in the review as these new innovations need further research before they can be used for industrial capture applications
This study started from 2650 papers down to 525 final included studies. This displays that membrane technology for CO2 capture has attracted a lot of research attention from research in the past three decades

Summary

Introduction

The global energy consumption has doubled since the year 1970 predominated by fossil-based fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal [1]. These conventional resources have accounted for more than 80% of the global primary energy consumption in 2015 [1]. Fossil fueled power plants account for approximately 40% of the total CO2 emissions, with coal fired power stations being the predominant contributor [3]. The combustion of these fossil fuels produces CO2 at high rates which is recognised as the main greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. The utilisation of CO2 as a by-product would reap economic benefits as well as simultaneously alleviate the concerns regarding global climate change [5]

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