Capturing carbon dioxide from air with charged-sorbents.

Emissions reduction and greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere are both necessary to achieve net-zero emissions and limit climate change1. There is thus a need for improved sorbents for the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, a process known as direct air capture. In particular, low-cost materials that can be regenerated at low temperatures would overcome the limitations of current technologies. In this work, we introduce a new class of designer sorbent materials known as 'charged-sorbents'. These materials are prepared through a battery-like charging process that accumulates ions in the pores of low-cost activated carbons, with the inserted ions then serving as sites for carbon dioxide adsorption. We use our charging process to accumulate reactive hydroxide ions in the pores of a carbon electrode, and find that the resulting sorbent material can rapidly capture carbon dioxide from ambient air by means of (bi)carbonate formation. Unlike traditional bulk carbonates, charged-sorbent regeneration can be achieved at low temperatures (90-100 °C) and the sorbent's conductive nature permits direct Joule heating regeneration2,3 using renewable electricity. Given their highly tailorable pore environments and low cost, we anticipate that charged-sorbents will find numerous potential applications in chemical separations, catalysis and beyond.

The refinery of the future.

Fossil fuels-coal, oil and gas-supply most of the world's energy and also form the basis of many products essential for everyday life. Their use is the largest contributor to the carbon dioxide emissions that drive global climate change, prompting joint efforts to find renewable alternatives that might enable a carbon-neutral society by as early as 2050. There are clear paths for renewable electricity to replace fossil-fuel-based energy, but the transport fuels and chemicals produced in oil refineries will still be needed. We can attempt to close the carbon cycle associated with their use by electrifying refinery processes and by changing the raw materials that go into a refinery from fossils fuels to carbon dioxide for making hydrocarbon fuels and to agricultural and municipal waste for making chemicals and polymers. We argue that, with sufficient long-term commitment and support, the science and technology for such a completely fossil-free refinery, delivering the products required after 2050 (less fuels, more chemicals), could be developed. This future refinery will require substantially larger areas and greater mineral resources than is the case at present and critically depends on the capacity to generate large amounts of renewable energy for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide capture.

A Hybrid Zeolite Membrane-Based Breakthrough for Simultaneous CO2 Capture and CH4 Upgrading from Biogas.

Biogas is an environmentally friendly and sustainable energy resource that can substitute or complement conventional fossil fuels. For practical uses, biogas upgrading, mainly through the effective separation of CO2 (0.33 nm) and CH4 (0.38 nm), is required to meet the approximately 90-95% purity of CH4, while CO2 should be concomitantly purified. In this study, a high CO2 perm-selective zeolite membrane was synthesized by heteroepitaxially growing a chabazite (CHA) zeolite seed layer with a synthetic precursor that allowed the formation of all-silica deca-dodecasil 3 rhombohedral (DDR) zeolite (with a pore size of 0.36 × 0.44 nm2). The resulting hydrophobic DDR@CHA hybrid membrane on an asymmetric α-Al2O3 tube was thin (ca. 2 µm) and continuous, thus providing both high flux and permselectivity for CO2 irrespective of the presence or absence of water vapor (the third largest component in the biogas streams). To the best of our knowledge, the CO2 permeance of (2.9 ± 0.3) × 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 and CO2/CH4 separation factor of ca. 274 ± 73 at a saturated water vapor partial pressure of ca. 12 kPa at 50 °C have the highest CO2/CH4 separation performance yet achieved. Furthermore, we explored the membrane module properties of the hybrid membrane in terms of the recovery and purity of both CO2 and CH4 under dry and wet conditions. Despite the high intrinsic membrane properties of the current hybrid membrane, reflected by the high permeance and SF, the corresponding module properties indicated that high-performance separation of CO2 and CH4 for the desired biogas upgrading was achieved at a limited processing capacity. This supports the importance of understanding the correlation between the membrane and module properties, as this will provide guidance for the optimal operating conditions.

Copolymers of starch, a sustainable template for biomedical applications: A review.

The outstanding versatility of starch offers a source of inspiration for the development of high-performance-value-added biomaterials for the biomedical field, including drug delivery, tissue engineering and diagnostic imaging. This is because starch-based materials can be tailored to specific applications via facile grafting or other chemistries, introducing specific substituents, with starch being effectively the "template" used in all the chemical transformations discussed in this review. A considerable effort has been carried out to obtain specific tailored starch-based grafted polymers, taking advantage of its biocompatibility and biodegradability with appealing sustainability considerations. The aim of this review is to critically explore the latest research that use grafting chemistries on starch for the synthesis of products for biomedical applications. An effort is made in reviewing the literature that proposes synthetic "greener" approaches, the use of enzymes and their immobilized analogues and alternative solvent systems, including water emulsions, ionic liquids and supercritical CO2.

Hydrothermal-Freeze-Casting of Poly(amidoamine)-Modified Graphene Aerogels towards CO2 Adsorption.

This article presents novel poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer-modified with partially-reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogels, obtained using the combined solvothermal synthesis-freeze-casting approach. The properties of modified aerogels are investigated with varying synthesis conditions, such as dendrimer generation (G), GO:PAMAM wt. ratio, solvothermal temperature, and freeze-casting rate. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are employed to characterize the aerogels. The results indicate a strong correlation of the synthesis conditions with N content, N/C ratio, and nitrogen contributions in the modified aerogels. Our results show that the best CO2 adsorption performance was exhibited by the aerogels modified with higher generation (G7) dendrimer at low GO:PAMAM ratio as 2:0.1 mg mL-1 and obtained at higher solvothermal temperature and freeze-casting in liquid nitrogen. The enclosed results are indicative of a viable approach to modify graphene aerogels towards improving the CO2 capture.

Application of extracorporeal therapies in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major public health event caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 has spread widely all over the world. A high proportion of patients become severely or critically ill, and suffer high mortality due to respiratory failure and multiple organ dysfunction. Therefore, providing timely and effective treatment for critically ill patients is essential to reduce overall mortality. Convalescent plasma therapy and pharmacological treatments, such as aerosol inhalation of interferon-α (IFN-α), corticosteroids, and tocilizumab, have all been applied in clinical practice; however, their effects remain controversial. Recent studies have shown that extracorporeal therapies might have a potential role in treating critically ill COVID-19 patients. In this review, we examine the application of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), hemoadsorption (HA), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) in critically ill COVID-19 patients to provide support for the further diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.

A review on chitosan-based membranes for sustainable CO2 separation applications: Mechanism, issues, and the way forward.

Effective carbon dioxide (CO2) separation by nominal energy utilization is the factual attempt in the present era of energy scarcity and environmental calamity. In this perspective, the membrane- based gas separation technology is a budding endeavour owing to its cost -effectiveness, ease of operational maintenance and compact modular design. Among various membrane materials, bio-based polymers are of interest as they are abundant and can be obtained from renewable resources, and can also reduce our dependency on exhaustible fossil fuel-based sources. In this review, the structure-property relationship of chitosan and some of its film-forming derivatives has been critically studied for the first time in view of the fundamental properties required for gas separation applications. Various factors affecting the gas permeation performance of chitosan-based membranes have been highlighted along with prospects and propositions for the design of a few novel bio-based membranes based on the exhaustive analyses.

End-tidal to arterial carbon dioxide gradient is associated with increased mortality in patients with traumatic brain injury: a retrospective observational study.

Early definitive airway protection and normoventilation are key principles in the treatment of severe traumatic brain injury. These are currently guided by end tidal CO2 as a proxy for PaCO2. We assessed whether the difference between end tidal CO2 and PaCO2 at hospital admission is associated with in-hospital mortality. We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of consecutive patients with traumatic brain injury who were intubated and transported by Helicopter Emergency Medical Services to a Level 1 trauma center between January 2014 and December 2019. We assessed the association between the CO2 gap-defined as the difference between end tidal CO2 and PaCO2-and in-hospital mortality using multivariate logistic regression models. 105 patients were included in this study. The mean ± SD CO2 gap at admission was 1.64 ± 1.09 kPa and significantly greater in non-survivors than survivors (2.26 ± 1.30 kPa vs. 1.42 ± 0.92 kPa, p < .001). The correlation between EtCO2 and PaCO2 at admission was low (Pearson's r = .287). The mean CO2 gap after 24 h was only 0.64 ± 0.82 kPa, and no longer significantly different between non-survivors and survivors. The multivariate logistic regression model showed that the CO2 gap was independently associated with increased mortality in this cohort and associated with a 2.7-fold increased mortality for every 1 kPa increase in the CO2 gap (OR 2.692, 95% CI 1.293 to 5.646, p = .009). This study demonstrates that the difference between EtCO2 and PaCO2 is significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in patients with traumatic brain injury. EtCO2 was significantly lower than PaCO2, making it an unreliable proxy for PaCO2 when aiming for normocapnic ventilation. The CO2 gap can lead to iatrogenic hypoventilation when normocapnic ventilation is aimed and might thereby increase in-hospital mortality.

Supercritical-CO2 extraction, identification and quantification of polyprenol as a bioactive ingredient from Irish trees species.

This study ascertained the accumulation of polyprenol from four Irish conifer species Picea sitchensis, Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca', Pinus sylvestris and Taxus baccata and one flowering tree Cotoneaster hybrida using supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide (SFE-CO2) and solvent extraction. The effects of SFE-CO2 parameters such as temperature (ranged from 40 to 70 [Formula: see text]), pressure (ranged from 100 to 350 bars) and dynamic time (from 70 min to 7 h) were analysed on the extraction efficiency of polyprenol. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of polyprenol was examined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that P. sylvestris accumulated the highest polyprenol yield of 14.00  ± [Formula: see text]mg g-1 DW when extracted with hexane:acetone (1:1 v/v). However, with SFE-CO2 conditions of 200 bars, 70 [Formula: see text], 7 h, with absolute ethanol as a cosolvent with a flow rate of 0.05 ml min-1, P. sitchensis accumulated the highest polyprenol yield of 6.35 ± [Formula: see text] mg g-1DW. This study emphasised the potential application of SFE-CO2 in the extraction of polyprenol as an environmentally friendly method to be used in pharmaceutical and food industries.

Meso/Microporous Carbons from Conjugated Hyper-Crosslinked Polymers Based on Tetraphenylethene for High-Performance CO2 Capture and Supercapacitor.

In this study, we successfully synthesized two types of meso/microporous carbon materials through the carbonization and potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation for two different kinds of hyper-crosslinked polymers of TPE-CPOP1 and TPE-CPOP2, which were synthesized by using Friedel-Crafts reaction of tetraphenylethene (TPE) monomer with or without cyanuric chloride in the presence of AlCl3 as a catalyst. The resultant porous carbon materials exhibited the high specific area (up to 1100 m2 g-1), total pore volume, good thermal stability, and amorphous character based on thermogravimetric (TGA), N2 adsoprtion/desorption, and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analyses. The as-prepared TPE-CPOP1 after thermal treatment at 800 °C (TPE-CPOP1-800) displayed excellent CO2 uptake performance (1.74 mmol g-1 at 298 K and 3.19 mmol g-1 at 273 K). Furthermore, this material possesses a high specific capacitance of 453 F g-1 at 5 mV s-1 comparable to others porous carbon materials with excellent columbic efficiencies for 10,000 cycle at 20 A g-1.

Application of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal combined with continuous blood purification therapy in ARDS with hypercapnia in patients with critical COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a new type of epidemic pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The population is generally susceptible to COVID-19, which mainly causes lung injury. Some cases may develop severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Currently, ARDS treatment is mainly mechanical ventilation, but mechanical ventilation often causes ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) accompanied by hypercapnia in 14% of patients. Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) can remove carbon dioxide from the blood of patients with ARDS, correct the respiratory acidosis, reduce the tidal volume and airway pressure, and reduce the incidence of VILI. CASE REPORT: Two patients with critical COVID-19 combined with multiple organ failure undertook mechanical ventilation and suffered from hypercapnia. ECCO2R, combined with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), was conducted concomitantly. In both cases (No. 1 and 2), the tidal volume and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) were down-regulated before the treatment and at 1.5 hours, one day, three days, five days, eight days, and ten days after the treatment, together with a noticeable decrease in PCO2 and clear increase in PO2, while FiO2 decreased to approximately 40%. In case No 2, compared with the condition before treatment, the PCO2 decreased significantly with down-regulation in the tidal volume and PEEP and improvement in the pulmonary edema and ARDS after the treatment. CONCLUSION: ECCO2R combined with continuous blood purification therapy in patients with COVID-19 who are criti-cally ill and have ARDS and hypercapnia might gain both time and opportunity in the treatment, down-regulate the ventilator parameters, reduce the incidence of VILI and achieve favorable therapeutic outcomes.

Synthesis of sodium lignosulfonate-guar gum composite hydrogel for the removal of Cu2+ and Co2.

As an emerging pollutant treatment material, hydrogel is known for its good adsorption capacity and environmental friendliness. In this study, a composite material of acrylic acid as the polymerization monomer grafted sodium lignosulfonate and guar gum was prepared, which provided a channel for adsorbing metal ions with its abundant active functional groups and porous structure. The optimized synthesized product was applied to the removal of Cu2+ and Co2+ in a one-component system and a multi-component system, and the maximum ion adsorption capacities obtained were determined to be 709 mg g-1 of Cu2+, 601 mg g-1 of Co2+, respectively. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were well fitted by the pseudo second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm, showing that the adsorption of Cu2+ and Co2+ by the adsorbent belongs to the chemisorption on monolayer. XPS results confirmed the successful adsorption of Cu2+ and Co2+ by GG/SLS. Surface complexation was proposed to be the main mechanism for GG/SLS adsorbent to remove heavy metal ions. In addition, the use of recycling research showed that the adsorbent has good chemical stability. These results provided valuable information for designing highly efficient adsorbents that can be used as a high-quality wastewater treatment material.

Very low blood flow carbon dioxide removal system is not effective in a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation setting.

Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2 R) is a low blood flow veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation technique that provides artificial blood CO2 removal. Recently, a new ECCO2 R system (PrismaLung), providing very low blood flow has been commercialized. The aim of this study is to report its use in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients needing an ECCO2 R therapy. Six severe COPD patients with acute exacerbation leading to refractory hypercapnic respiratory acidosis were treated with ECCO2 R therapy. Two different systems were used: a PrismaLung system and a conventional ECCO2 R device. The maximum blood flow provided by PrismaLung was significantly lower than that with the conventional ECCO2 R system. In three patients initially treated with PrismaLung, there were no improvements in pH, PaCO2 , or RR. Thus, the therapy was switched to a conventional ECCO2 R system in these three patients, and three others were treated from the outset by the conventional ECCO2 R system, providing significant improvement in pH, PaCO2 , and RR. The present retrospective study describes the first use of PrismaLung in severe COPD patients with acute exacerbation. When compared with a higher blood flow ECCO2 R system, our results show that this novel, very low-flow device is not able to remove sufficient CO2 , normalize pH or decrease respiratory rate.