CO2 capture from the industry sector

It is widely accepted that greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2, must be significantly reduced to prevent catastrophic global warming. Carbon capture and reliable storage (CCS) is one path towards controlling emissions, and serves as a key component to climate change mitigation and will serve as a bridge between the fossil fuel energy of today and the renewable energy of tomorrow. Although fossil-fueled power plants emit the vast majority of stationary CO2, there are many industries that emit purer streams of CO2, which result in reduced cost for separation. Moreover, many industries outside of electricity generation do not have ready alternatives for becoming low-carbon and CCS may be their only option. The thermodynamic minimum work for separation was calculated for a variety of CO2 emissions streams from various industries, followed by a Sherwood analysis of capture cost. The Sherwood plot correlates the relationship between concentrations of a target substance with the cost to separate it from the remaining components. As the target concentration increases, the cost to separate decreases on a molar basis. Further, a spatial analysis of CO2 point sources revealed that as the purity of CO2 emissions increases, the quantity at a single source tends to decrease. Furthermore, the lowest cost opportunities for deploying first-of-a-kind CCS technology were found to be in the Midwest and along the Gulf Coast. Many high purity industries, such as ethanol production, ammonia production and natural gas processing, are located in these regions. The southern Midwest and Gulf Coast are also co-located with potential geologic sequestration sites and enhanced oil recovery opportunities. As a starting point, these sites may provide the demonstration and knowledge necessary for reducing carbon capture technology costs across all industries, therefore improving the economic viability for CCS and climate change mitigation. The various industries considered in this review were examined from a dilution and impact perspective to determine the best path forward in terms of prioritizing for carbon capture. A possible implementation pathway is presented that initially focuses on CO2 capture from ethanol production, followed by the cement industry, ammonia, and then natural gas processing and ethylene oxide production. While natural gas processing and ethylene oxide production produce high purity streams, they only account for relatively small portions of industrial process CO2. Finally, petroleum refineries account for almost a fifth of industrial process CO2, but are comprised of numerous low-purity CO2 streams. These qualities make the latter three industries less attractive for initial carbon capture implementation, and better suited for consideration towards the end of the industrial carbon capture pathway

A Green Process for Niacinamide Production

This project proposes a plant in which niacinamide can be produced with an environmentally green process. Specifically, it takes 2-methyl-1,5-pentanediamine (MPDA) as a starting reactant and converts it to picoline before subsequently converting it to niacinamide and purifying the final product. By following this particular reaction path, the process avoids the more classic method of preparation by which nicotine is oxidized with potassium dichromate, a reaction with considerably more toxic reactants and waste. Along with this more sustainable reaction path, care was taken to ensure the process was as green as possible at each step along the way. The primary global supplier of niacin is Lonza, whose patent provided the base upon which this process was developed. Only preliminary data was furnished by the patent; the majority of the process presented within this portfolio was developed with limited information from the patent reference. The base-case process presented in this project consists of three main sections; Block 100 involves the conversion of MPDA into picoline, Block 200 involves the formation of niacinamide from picoline, and Block 300 involves the separation and purification of the niacinamide into the final marketable product. A final purity of 97.7% by weight was achieved. Rigorous economic analysis was performed on the entirety of the process, yielding an NPV of $4,932,800 after 20 years and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 16.82% after the third year. Although each of these indicate a positive return on investment, as the economic success of this process is highly subject to the market value of both the feedstock MPDA and product niacinamide, further investigation may be necessary before final project approval

Stability analysis for grain yield and some quality traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

The present study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity and stability for grain yield (GY), 1000- grain weight (TGW), protein content (PC), grain iron (Fe) and grain zinc (Zn) concentration under three varied environmental locations using 28 diverse wheat genotypes (including three checks i.e., WH1105, DPW621-50, and HD2967 ). The material was sown at three locations during Rabi 2015-2016. Pooled analysis of variance revealed highly significant variance due to environments for all the traits studied indicating differential response of the genotypes. The genotype BWL 3584 exhibited stable performance across the environments for grain yield and grain zinc concentration under un-favorable environment also shows potential for high grain yield and high grain zinc concentration. After further confirmation, genotype BWL 3584 could be utilized as potential donor in hybridization programme to improve grain yield and grain zinc concentration. Further, genotype SABW 225 showed consistent performance across the environments for TGW and PC content. Whereas, PBW 744 was found to be suitable for GY (6142 kg/ha), coupled with PC (12.09%) and Zn (52.18ppm) across the locations followed by PBW 725 (6094, 12.26 and 46.96) and BWL 3584 (5219, 12.63 and 50.23) GY, PC and Grain Zn, respectively)and BWL 3584 (5219, 12.63 and 50.23) could be utilized as a donor in routine breeding programme to improve grain yield and quality traits in bread wheat

Carbon Capture and Utilization in the Industrial Sector

The fabrication and manufacturing processes of industrial commodities such as iron, glass, and cement are carbon-intensive, accounting for 23% of global CO₂ emissions. As a climate mitigation strategy, CO₂ capture from flue gases of industrial processesmuch like that of the power sectorhas not experienced wide adoption given its high associated costs. However, some industrial processes with relatively high CO₂ flue concentration may be viable candidates to cost-competitively supply CO₂ for utilization purposes (e.g., polymer manufacturing, etc.). This work develops a methodology that determines the levelized cost ($/tCO₂) of separating, compressing, and transporting carbon dioxide. A top-down model determines the cost of separating and compressing CO₂ across 18 industrial processes. Further, the study calculates the cost of transporting CO₂ via pipeline and tanker truck to appropriately paired sinks using a bottom-up cost model and geo-referencing approach. The results show that truck transportation is generally the low-cost alternative given the relatively small volumes (ca. 100 kt CO₂/a). We apply our methodology to a regional case study in Pennsylvania, which shows steel and cement manufacturing paired to suitable sinks as having the lowest levelized cost of capture, compression, and transportation

Fabrication and Characterization of Taro (<i>Colocasia esculenta</i>)-Mucilage-Based Nanohydrogel for Shelf-Life Extension of Fresh-Cut Apples

Taro mucilage is a cost-effective, eco-friendly, and water-soluble edible viscous polysaccharide, which possesses diverse techno-functional properties including gelling and anti-microbial. Therefore, the objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate the efficacy of taro mucilage nanohydrogel for the shelf-life enhancement of fresh-cut apples. Taro mucilage was extracted using cold water extraction, and the yield of mucilage was found to be 2.95 ± 0.35% on a dry basis. Different concentrations of mucilage (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5%) were used to formulate the nanohydrogel. A smaller droplet size of 175.61 ± 0.92 nm was observed at 3% mucilage, with a zeta potential of −30.25 ± 0.94 mV. Moreover, FTIR data of nanohydrogel revealed the functional groups of various sugars, uronic acids, and proteins. Thermal analysis of nanohydrogel exhibited weight loss in three phases, and maximum weight loss occurred from 110.25 °C to 324.27 °C (65.16%). Nanohydrogel showed shear-thinning fluid or pseudo-plastic behavior. Coating treatment of nanohydrogel significantly reduced the weight loss of fresh-cut apples (8.72 ± 0.46%) as compared to the control sample (12.25 ± 0.78%) on the 10th day. In addition, minor changes were observed in the pH for both samples during the 10 days of storage. Titrable acidity of control fresh-cut apples measured 0.22 ± 0.05% on day 0, rising to 0.42 ± 0.03% on the 10th day, and for coated fresh-cut apples, it was observed to be 0.24 ± 0.07% on the 0th day and 0.36 ± 0.06% on 10th day, respectively. Furthermore, the total soluble solids (TSS) content of both control and coated fresh-cut apples measured on the 0th day was 11.85 ± 0.65% and 12.33 ± 0.92%, respectively. On the 10th day, these values were significantly increased (p < 0.05) to 16.38 ± 0.42% for the control and 14.26 ± 0.39% for the coated sliced apples, respectively. Nanohydrogel-coated fresh-cut apples retained antioxidant activity and vitamin C content as compared to the control sample. Taro mucilage nanohydrogel-based edible coating showed distinct anti-microbial activity against psychrotrophic, aerobic, and yeast molds. In summary, taro mucilage nanohydrogel can be used as a cost-effective natural coating material for the shelf-life enhancement or freshness maintenance of fresh-cut apples