Economically viable co-production of methanol and sulfuric acid via direct methane oxidation.

The direct oxidation of methane to methanol has been spotlighted research for decades, but has never been commercialized. This study introduces cost-effective process for co-producing methanol and sulfuric acid through a direct oxidation of methane. In the initial phase, methane oxidation forms methyl bisulfate (CHOSOH), then transformed into methyl trifluoroacetate (CFCOCH) via esterification, and hydrolyzed into methanol.

Diamond in the rough: Polishing waste polyethylene terephthalate into activated carbon for CO capture.

The scientific community has believed the potential of waste PET plastics as an effective carbon precursor, however, developing PET-derived activated carbons (PETACs) for a specific application is still a challenge we are facing. To overcome the limitation, a whole chain from development method screening to experiments design, finally to sample optimization, for a sample with promising performance, is proposed in this work. By employing PETACs as CO adsorbents, the waste PET plastics, which we believed the "diamond in the rough", have been polished successfully.

Preparation of copper-loaded porous carbons through hydrothermal carbonization and ZnCl activation and their application to selective CO adsorption: Experimental and DFT calculation studies.

CO is used as a raw material to produce valuable chemicals. Adsorption using solid materials can be employed to separate and recover CO from gas mixtures. In this study, cellulose-based, porous carbons were prepared via hydrothermal carbonization and ZnCl activation.

Applied Machine Learning for Prediction of CO Adsorption on Biomass Waste-Derived Porous Carbons.

Biomass waste-derived porous carbons (BWDPCs) are a class of complex materials that are widely used in sustainable waste management and carbon capture. However, their diverse textural properties, the presence of various functional groups, and the varied temperatures and pressures to which they are subjected during CO adsorption make it challenging to understand the underlying mechanism of CO adsorption. Here, we compiled a data set including 527 data points collected from peer-reviewed publications and applied machine learning to systematically map CO adsorption as a function of the textural and compositional properties of BWDPCs and adsorption parameters.

Review on upgrading organic waste to value-added carbon materials for energy and environmental applications.

Value-added materials such as biochar and activated carbon that are produced using thermo-chemical conversion of organic waste have gained an emerging interest for the application in the fields of energy and environment because of their low cost and unique physico-chemical properties. Organic waste-derived materials have multifunctional abilities in the field of environment for capturing greenhouse gases and remediation of contaminated soil and water as well as in the field of energy storage and conversion. This review critically evaluates and discusses the current thermo-chemical approaches for upgrading organic waste to value-added carbon materials, performance enhancement of these materials via activation and/or surface modification, and recent research findings related to energy and environmental applications.

Valorization of waste polyethylene terephthalate plastic into N-doped microporous carbon for CO capture through a one-pot synthesis.

Valorization of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into microporous carbon with N-doping treatment was successfully performed in a one-pot synthesis and the N-doped microporous carbon was used for CO capture, which can mitigate plastic pollution and climate change simultaneously. The PET-derived microporous carbon developed by KOH activation and urea treatment in a one-pot synthesis at 700 °C exhibited the highest CO adsorption uptake of 6.23 mmol g at 0 °C and 4.

Carbon dioxide capture in biochar produced from pine sawdust and paper mill sludge: Effect of porous structure and surface chemistry.

The CO concentration in the atmosphere is increasing and threatening the earth's climate. Selective CO capture at large point sources will help to reduce the CO emissions to the atmosphere. Biochar with microporous structure could be a potential material to capture CO.

Upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles into porous carbon for CF adsorption.

Thermo-chemical processes for converting plastic wastes into useful materials are considered promising technologies to mitigate the environmental pollution caused by plastic wastes. In this study, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic wastes were used to develop cost-effective and value-added porous carbons; the developed porous carbons were subsequently tested for capturing CF, a greenhouse gas with a high global-warming potential. The activation temperature was varied from 600 °C to 1000 °C and the mass ratio of KOH/carbon ranged from 1 to 3 in the preparation process and their effects on the textural properties and CF-capture performance of the PET plastic waste-derived porous carbons were investigated.

Gasification biochar from biowaste (food waste and wood waste) for effective CO adsorption.

Biochar is newly proposed as an innovative and cost-effective material to capture CO. In this study, biochar was produced from feedstock mixtures of food waste and wood waste (i.e.

Data on the characterization of Raney nickel powder and Raney-nickel-coated electrodes prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying for alkaline water electrolysis.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled: "Electrochemical characterization of Raney nickel electrodes prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying for alkaline water electrolysis" (Kim et al., 2018). This article describes the characterization of raw Ni-Al alloy and Raney Ni powders via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and presents the EDS data of the prepared electrodes.

Double-Layer Structured CO Adsorbent Functionalized with Modified Polyethyleneimine for High Physical and Chemical Stability.

CO capture using polyethyleneimine (PEI)-impregnated silica adsorbents has been receiving a lot of attention. However, the absence of physical stability (evaporation and leaching of amine) and chemical stability (urea formation) of the PEI-impregnated silica adsorbent has been generally established. Therefore, in this study, a double-layer impregnated structure, developed using modified PEI, is newly proposed to enhance the physical and chemical stabilities of the adsorbent.

Phosphorous recovery from sewage sludge using calcium silicate hydrates.

Phosphorous is an essential limiting nutrient for which there is no substitute. Its efficient recovery from sewage treatment plants is important to mitigate both dependence on limited reserves of exploitable phosphate rock and eutrophication of surface waters. Here, we evaluate the use of calcium silicate hydrates (CSH) to recover phosphorous eluted from sewage sludge.

Enhanced Lithium- and Sodium-Ion Storage in an Interconnected Carbon Network Comprising Electronegative Fluorine.

Fluorocarbon (CF) anode materials were developed for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries through a facile one-step carbonization of a single precursor, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Interconnected carbon network structures were produced with doped fluorine in high-temperature carbonization at 500-800 °C. The fluorocarbon anodes derived from the PVDF precursor showed higher reversible discharge capacities of 735 mAh g and 269 mAh g in lithium- and sodium-ion batteries, respectively, compared to the commercial graphitic carbon.

Predictive Guide for Collective CO Adsorption Properties of Mg-Al Mixed Oxides.

Although solid adsorption processes offer attractive benefits, such as reduced energy demands and penalties compared with liquid absorption processes, there are still pressing needs for solid adsorbents with high adsorption capacities, thermal efficiencies, and energy-intensive regeneration in gas-treatment processes. The CO adsorption capacities of layered double oxides (LDOs), which are attractive solid adsorbents, have an asymmetric volcano-type correlation with their relative crystallinities. Furthermore, new collective adsorption properties (adsorption capacity, adsorptive energy and charge-transfer amount based on the adsorbent weight) are proposed based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations and measured surface areas.

CO Capture in the Sustainable Wheat-Derived Activated Microporous Carbon Compartments.

Microporous carbon compartments (MCCs) were developed via controlled carbonization of wheat flour producing large cavities that allow CO gas molecules to access micropores and adsorb effectively. KOH activation of MCCs was conducted at 700 °C with varying mass ratios of KOH/C ranging from 1 to 5, and the effects of activation conditions on the prepared carbon materials in terms of the characteristics and behavior of CO adsorption were investigated. Textural properties, such as specific surface area and total pore volume, linearly increased with the KOH/C ratio, attributed to the development of pores and enlargement of pores within carbon.

Secondary Crystal Growth on a Cracked Hydrotalcite-Based Film Synthesized by the Sol-Gel Method.

The sol-gel synthesis method is an attractive technology for the fabrication of ceramic films due to its preparation simplicity and ease of varying the metal composition. However, this technique presents some limitations in relation to the film thickness. Notably, when the film thickness exceeds the critical limit, large tensile stresses occur, resulting in a cracked morphology.

High-Temperature CO2 Sorption on Hydrotalcite Having a High Mg/Al Molar Ratio.

Hydrotalcites having a Mg/Al molar ratio between 3 and 30 have been synthesized as promising high-temperature CO2 sorbents. The existence of NaNO3 in the hydrotalcite structure, which originates from excess magnesium nitrate in the precursor, markedly increases CO2 sorption uptake by hydrotalcite up to the record high value of 9.27 mol kg(-1) at 240 °C and 1 atm CO2.

Optimal design and experimental validation of a simulated moving bed chromatography for continuous recovery of formic acid in a model mixture of three organic acids from Actinobacillus bacteria fermentation.

The economically-efficient separation of formic acid from acetic acid and succinic acid has been a key issue in the production of formic acid with the Actinobacillus bacteria fermentation. To address this issue, an optimal three-zone simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography for continuous separation of formic acid from acetic acid and succinic acid was developed in this study. As a first step for this task, the adsorption isotherm and mass-transfer parameters of each organic acid on the qualified adsorbent (Amberchrom-CG300C) were determined through a series of multiple frontal experiments.

Hydrothermal synthesis of K2CO3-promoted hydrotalcite from hydroxide-form precursors for novel high-temperature CO2 sorbent.

In many materials for CO2 sorption, hydrotalcite is attracting substantial attention as a high temperature (200-500 °C) CO2 sorbent because of its fast sorption/desorption kinetics and easy regenerability. However, the CO2-sorption capacity of conventional hydrotalcite is relatively low for large-scale commercial use. To enhance CO2-sorption capacity, hydrotalcite is conventionally impregnated with alkali metals such as K2CO3.

Toluene decomposition by DBD-type plasma combined with metal oxide catalysts supported on ferroelectric materials.

We investigated toluene decomposition with a single-stage plasma catalytic system operated at atmospheric pressure and working at reduced temperature (T < 75 degrees C), where a synergistic catalyst was integrated on ferroelectric BaTiO3 beads with a high dielectric constant. The catalyst species were characterized by FE-SEM and XPS before and after the experiment. The MnO2/BaTiO3 catalyst showed high stability in igniting plasma during destruction of toluene for 230 hours in a lifetime test.

Nanoscale graft copolymer templates decorated by silver bromide nanoparticles arrays.

A novel amphiphilic poly(4-vinyl pyridine)-graft-poly(lauryl methacrylate) (P4VP-g-PLMA) graft copolymer at 29:71 wt% was synthesized via free radical polymerization, as confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). This self-assembled copolymer was used to template the in-situ growth of silver bromide (AgBr) nanoparticles, producing a solid-state nanocomposite film. Interestingly enough, AgBr nanoparticles with a bimodal size distribution were selectively grown within the copolymer matrix.

Enhancement of CO2 sorption uptake on hydrotalcite by impregnation with K2CO3.

The awareness of symptoms of global warming and its seriousness urges the development of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is a representative greenhouse gas, and numerous methods to capture and storage CO(2) have been considered. Recently, the technology to remove high-temperature CO(2) by sorption has received lots of attention.

Coordination structure of various ligands in crosslinked PVA to silver ions for facilitated olefin transport.

The most effective ligand among -OH, -O- and -CHO for facilitated olefin transport by silver ions in room temperature crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) membrane has been evaluated.