Efficient CO2 capture by a novel deep eutectic solvent through facile, one-pot synthesis with low energy consumption and feasible regeneration

Abstract

With steady growth on CO2 emission over the years, removal of CO2 from the environment is a critical issue in preventing global warming and climate change. Due to negligible volatility and remarkable thermal stability, ionic liquids have become potential media for CO2 capture. However, their drawbacks such as high price, toxicity and inefficient energy consumption have severely limited their applications in CO2 capture. Here, a promising deep eutectic solvent was synthesized by a one-pot method, simply mixing NH4Cl with monoethanolamine (MEA) at 30 °C for 30 min to form [MEAHCl][MEA] confirmed by 1H NMR. [MEAHCl][MEA] with EG exhibits a rapid initial kinetics of CO2 absorption, around 22.5 wt% within 10 min. It also has good thermal-stability, high tolerance to water contents, economically feasibility of regeneration and robust performance in recycle. This novel capture system which can be prepared on-site is feasible for industrialization and offers an efficient, inexpensive and safe system for CO2 capture.