(561e) Life Cycle Assessment of Functionalized Ultraporous Superactivated Hydrochars for Carbon Capture

Carbon dioxide accounts for 77% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, contributing significantly to environmental crises such as global warming and climate change. Consequently, research into carbon capture technologies is vital to mitigate these environmental risks stemming from CO2 emissions in power plants and energy-intensive industries. Adsorption of CO2 in porous carbon-based adsorbents is a well-established method due to its higher capacity, renewability, cost-effectiveness, and faster kinetics, especially when the adsorbent surface is functionalized with nitrogen and oxygen functionalities. However, different functionalization methods for carbon capture have various environmental impacts, spanning from the production stage of system infrastructure to the end of their lifecycle. Therefore, conducting comprehensive and appropriately designed life cycle assessment (LCA) studies is crucial to provide clear evidence on the comparative sustainability of different functionalization methods. This research aims to compare the environmental impacts of functionalizing super activated hydrochars derived from loblolly pine using zeolite and CO2 gas during hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) for enhanced carbon capture. Environmental impacts were evaluated using a combined approach for the life cycle inventory, physical and economic input data. Simulation results indicate that utilizing CO2 during functionalization for carbon capture applications yields a positive impact compared to the zeolite functionalization method.