Browsing by Author "Petrovic, Ben"
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Item Open Access Activated carbon derived from biomass combustion bottom ash as solid sorbent for CO2 adsorption(Elsevier, 2023-05-05) Gorbounov, Mikhail; Petrovic, Ben; Ozmen, Serap; Clough, Peter T.Climate change and global warming, caused mainly by the anthropogenic CO2 emissions, has been recognised to be the biggest threat to global ecosystems. Replacing fossil fuels with sustainable biomass for heat and power generation is a key tool in our fight against climate change. Such combustion, however, generates large quantities of ash which, unlike the coal counterparts, are yet to find major applications in industry. This leads to challenging waste management and thus, necessitating urgent measures to valorise this increasing waste stream. However, producing activated carbon from biomass combustion ash allows for not only effective waste valorisation into value-added products, but also to prepare a sorbent for post-combustion carbon capture from an abundant and cheap source that is readily available for in-situ application (hence, minimising overall costs). This work has focused on preparation and activation of industrial-grade biomass ash-derived porous carbon via an economical direct method, followed by an extensive characterisation of its textural properties as well as an evaluation of the CO2 uptake of both the virgin and the activated carbonaceous sorbents. The final sample was selected based on an extensive optimisation campaign aiming towards maximisation of yield and CO2 uptake. The optimum activated sample adsorbed 0.69 mmol/g, thus, nearly doubling the adsorption capacity of the virgin biomass combustion bottom ash-derived carbon.Item Open Access Development of nanoporosity on a biomass combustion ash-derived carbon for CO2 adsorption(IEEE, 2022-11-08) Gorbounov, Mikhail; Petrovic, Ben; Özmen, Seran; Clough, Peter T.; Bekmuratova, Dilyara; Masoudi Soltani, SalmanCarbonaceous adsorbents are one of the most widely-used materials used for the removal of chemical species in gaseous and aqueous media. However, the route from precursor to activated carbon is riddled with myriad techniques and steps, that entail additional costs. Such expenses could be minimized via waste valorization e.g. biomass combustion bottom ash which has been used in this work. In order to develop surface nanoporosity, the waste-derived carbon was thermally treated, increasing the CO 2 adsorption capacity by nearly twofold and thus, producing a cost-effective sorbent for post-combustion CO 2 capture. The effectiveness of such “unconventional” activation route has been verified using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy as well as Proximate Analysis and the CO 2 adsorption data obtained via Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The proposed material and method could serve as a viable alternative to the current methods for decarbonization of the UK power sector through in-situ waste valorization.Item Open Access Synthesis of nanoporous type A and X zeolite mixtures from biomass combustion fly ash for post-combustion carbon capture(IEEE, 2022-11-08) Petrovic, Ben; Gorbounov, Mikhail; Özmen, Seran; Clough, Peter T.; Soltani, Salman MasoudiIn this study, improved nanoporous zeolites for use in post-combustion carbon capture have been synthesised from industrial-grade biomass combustion fly ash generated in one of the largest biomass combustion power plants in the UK. The method of nanoporous zeolite synthesis follows an alkaline fusion-assisted hydrothermal procedure. The nanoporous zeolites have been characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The presence of two crystalline structures, Faujasite and Linde Type A has been confirmed by the characterisation results. The CO 2 adsorption investigations were conducted via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to estimate the uptake capacity of the prepared adsorbents. TGA studies suggest that the improved nanoporous adsorbent, evaluated under 100 mol % CO 2 at atmospheric pressure, has an equilibrium capacity of over 1.6 mmolCO 2 /g at 50°C, a two-fold increase from our previous study with a crystalline structure confirmed by XRD.