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Anwar MN, Fayyaz A, Sohail NF, Khokhar MF, Baqar M, Yasar A, Rasool K, Nazir A, Raja MUF, Rehan M, Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M, Nizami AS. CO 2 utilization: Turning greenhouse gas into fuels and valuable products. J Environ Manage 2020; 260:110059. [PMID: 32090808 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.110059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Revised: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
This study critically reviews the recent developments and future opportunities pertinent to the conversion of CO2 as a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) to fuels and valuable products. CO2 emissions have reached an alarming level of around 410 ppm and have become the primary driver of global warming and climate change leading to devastating events such as droughts, hurricanes, torrential rains, floods, tornados and wildfires across the world. These events are responsible for thousands of deaths and have adversely affected the economic development of many countries, loss of billions of dollars, across the globe. One of the promising choices to tackle this issue is carbon sequestration by pre- and post-combustion processes and oxyfuel combustion. The captured CO2 can be converted into fuels and valuable products, including methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), and methane (CH4). The efficient use of the sequestered CO2 for the desalinization might be critical in overcoming water scarcity and energy issues in developing countries. Using the sequestered CO2 to produce algae in combination with wastewater, and producing biofuels is among the promising strategies. Many methods, like direct combustion, fermentation, transesterification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion (AD), and gasification, can be used for the conversion of algae into biofuel. Direct air capturing (DAC) is another productive technique for absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and converting it into various useful energy resources like CH4. These methods can effectively tackle the issues of climate change, water security, and energy crises. However, future research is required to make these conversion methods cost-effective and commercially applicable.
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Affiliation(s)
- M N Anwar
- Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan.
| | - A Fayyaz
- Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - N F Sohail
- Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - M F Khokhar
- Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - M Baqar
- Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - A Yasar
- Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - K Rasool
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar
| | - A Nazir
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Lahore School of Economics, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - M U F Raja
- Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - M Rehan
- Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - M Aghbashlo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering of Agricultural Machinery, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
| | - M Tabatabaei
- Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Biofuel Research Team (BRTeam), Karaj, Iran; Microbial Biotechnology Department, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran; Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
| | - A S Nizami
- Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
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Anwar MN, Fayyaz A, Sohail NF, Khokhar MF, Baqar M, Khan WD, Rasool K, Rehan M, Nizami AS. CO 2 capture and storage: A way forward for sustainable environment. J Environ Manage 2018; 226:131-144. [PMID: 30114572 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Revised: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The quest for a sustainable environment and combating global warming, carbon capture, and storage (CCS) has become the primary resort. A complete shift from non-renewable resources to renewable resources is currently impossible due to its major share in energy generation; making CCS an imperative need of the time. This study, therefore, aims to examine the reckoning of carbon dioxide (CO2), measurement methods, and its efficient capture and storage technologies with an ambition to combat global warming and achieve environmental sustainability. Conventionally, physical, geological and biological proxies are used to measure CO2. The recent methods for CO2 analyses are spectrometry, electrochemical gas sensors, and gas chromatography. Various procedures such as pre, post, and oxyfuel combustion, and use of algae, biochar, and charcoal are the promising ways for CO2 sequestration. However, the efficient implementation of CCS lies in the application of nanotechnology that, in the future, could provide a better condition for the environment and economic outlooks. The captured carbon can be stored in the earth crust for trillions of years, but its leakage during storage can raise many issues including its emissions in the atmosphere and soil acidification. Therefore, global and collective efforts are required to explore, optimize and implement new techniques for CCS to achieve high environmental sustainability and combat the issues of global warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- M N Anwar
- Sustainable Development Study Center, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan.
| | - A Fayyaz
- Sustainable Development Study Center, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - N F Sohail
- Sustainable Development Study Center, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - M F Khokhar
- Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - M Baqar
- Sustainable Development Study Center, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - W D Khan
- Sustainable Development Study Center, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - K Rasool
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar
| | - M Rehan
- Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - A S Nizami
- Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Imran Z, Batool SS, Rafiq MA, Rasool K, Ahmad M, Shahid RN, Hasan MM. Investigation of change in surface area and grain size of cadmium titanate nanofibers upon annealing and their effect on oxygen sensing. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2014; 6:4542-4549. [PMID: 24564767 DOI: 10.1021/am500354a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We have investigated the phase changes in CdTiO3 nanofibers as the annealing temperature of nanofibers was increased from 600 to 1200 °C. The nanofibers annealed at 600 °C were ilmenite with a very small amount of CdO. Upon annealing at 950 °C, CdO was completely removed. Annealing at 1000 °C yielded pure perovskite nanofibers, and at temperatures above 1100 °C rutile TiO2 nanofibers were obtained. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis showed that with increase in annealing temperature the surface area of nanofibers was decreased. The nanofibers annealed at 600 °C have the higher surface area of ∼9.41 m(2)/g. Then oxygen sensors using CdTiO3 nanofibers annealed at 600 °C (ilmenite) and 1000 °C (perovskite) were fabricated. The sensitivity of the ilmenite nanofibers sensor was 2 times than that of the perovskite nanofibers sensor. The response and recovery times were 120 and 23 s, respectively, for the ilmenite nanofibers sensor, whereas response and recovery times were 156 and 50 s, respectively, for the perovskite nanofibers sensor. Better oxygen characteristics of ilmenite nanofibers are attributed to their large surface area and porosity. Therefore, we believe that ilmenite CdTiO3 nanofibers are potential candidates to develop practical oxygen sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Imran
- Micro and Nano Devices Group, Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) , P.O. Nilore, Islamabad, 45650, Pakistan
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