Post-combustion CO2 capture adsorbents from spent coffee grounds

Abstract

Post-combustion CO2 capture can contribute to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the short-to-medium term at relatively low technology risk. However, there are not post-combustion units installed yet on a commercial scale, and the considered first generation capture processes, based on absorption with amines, are energy intensive. Adsorption processes present scope for reducing the energy penalty of the capture step. In this work, carbons prepared from spent coffee grounds are evaluated as potential adsorbents for this application. They present high CO2/N2 selectivity, and a working capacity competitive to that of zeolite 13X with the appealing advantages of a significant lower cost, higher stability and easier regeneration.