To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologies
Excessive reliance on fossil fuels results in the increasing accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, contributing to substantial global warming. To mitigate the release of this greenhouse gas, CCUS technology integrates carbon capture, utilization, and storage, providing a comprehens...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Sustainable Chemistry for Climate Action |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772826925000021 |
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| author | Tanisha Kar Hari Prakash Veluswamy |
| author_facet | Tanisha Kar Hari Prakash Veluswamy |
| author_sort | Tanisha Kar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Excessive reliance on fossil fuels results in the increasing accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, contributing to substantial global warming. To mitigate the release of this greenhouse gas, CCUS technology integrates carbon capture, utilization, and storage, providing a comprehensive solution to address the impact of industrial activities on climate change. While numerous experimental-scale CCUS processes are being studied, there is a need to compare their environmental impacts. This paper focuses on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of lab-scale catalysts used in low technology readiness level (TRL) CCUS methodologies, employed to obtain a single target product. It includes a case study of two Cu-based catalysts for the conversion of CO2 into ethanol. Selection of ethanol as the CCU product is due to its prospects as a renewable fuel. Both grid electricity and photovoltaic-based electricity for catalyst synthesis have been used, resulting in a comparative study of four separate product systems. The two catalysts used in this assessment are Cu/C-0.4, and Cu@Na-Beta. Cu/C-0.4 catalyst has Cu nominal loading of 0.4wt%, over carbon support. Cu@Na-Beta consists of embedded 2–5 nm Cu nanoparticles in crystalline particles of Na- Beta zeolite. 17 impact categories were selected for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). In all categories, Cu/C-0.4 has more environmental impact than Cu@Na-Beta, indicating that it is environmentally less harmful to synthesize Cu@Na-Beta for CCU applications than Cu/C-0.4 under the studied conditions. Thus this study outlines the method of using LCA for preliminary screening of potential technologies that can be considered for commercial implementation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bc300997ab8e4d8ea04b8369b080aaa9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2772-8269 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sustainable Chemistry for Climate Action |
| spelling | doaj-art-bc300997ab8e4d8ea04b8369b080aaa92025-01-27T04:22:43ZengElsevierSustainable Chemistry for Climate Action2772-82692025-06-016100057To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologiesTanisha Kar0Hari Prakash Veluswamy1Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Hanamkonda, Telangana 506004, India; Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand 247667, IndiaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand 247667, India; Corresponding author.Excessive reliance on fossil fuels results in the increasing accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, contributing to substantial global warming. To mitigate the release of this greenhouse gas, CCUS technology integrates carbon capture, utilization, and storage, providing a comprehensive solution to address the impact of industrial activities on climate change. While numerous experimental-scale CCUS processes are being studied, there is a need to compare their environmental impacts. This paper focuses on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of lab-scale catalysts used in low technology readiness level (TRL) CCUS methodologies, employed to obtain a single target product. It includes a case study of two Cu-based catalysts for the conversion of CO2 into ethanol. Selection of ethanol as the CCU product is due to its prospects as a renewable fuel. Both grid electricity and photovoltaic-based electricity for catalyst synthesis have been used, resulting in a comparative study of four separate product systems. The two catalysts used in this assessment are Cu/C-0.4, and Cu@Na-Beta. Cu/C-0.4 catalyst has Cu nominal loading of 0.4wt%, over carbon support. Cu@Na-Beta consists of embedded 2–5 nm Cu nanoparticles in crystalline particles of Na- Beta zeolite. 17 impact categories were selected for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). In all categories, Cu/C-0.4 has more environmental impact than Cu@Na-Beta, indicating that it is environmentally less harmful to synthesize Cu@Na-Beta for CCU applications than Cu/C-0.4 under the studied conditions. Thus this study outlines the method of using LCA for preliminary screening of potential technologies that can be considered for commercial implementation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772826925000021Life cycle assessment (LCA)CO2 captureCO2 utilizationEthanolCatalystLow TRL |
| spellingShingle | Tanisha Kar Hari Prakash Veluswamy To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologies Sustainable Chemistry for Climate Action Life cycle assessment (LCA) CO2 capture CO2 utilization Ethanol Catalyst Low TRL |
| title | To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologies |
| title_full | To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologies |
| title_fullStr | To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologies |
| title_full_unstemmed | To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologies |
| title_short | To nip it or let it bloom: Life cycle assessment of lab-scale catalysts used in low-TRL CCUS technologies |
| title_sort | to nip it or let it bloom life cycle assessment of lab scale catalysts used in low trl ccus technologies |
| topic | Life cycle assessment (LCA) CO2 capture CO2 utilization Ethanol Catalyst Low TRL |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772826925000021 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tanishakar tonipitorletitbloomlifecycleassessmentoflabscalecatalystsusedinlowtrlccustechnologies AT hariprakashveluswamy tonipitorletitbloomlifecycleassessmentoflabscalecatalystsusedinlowtrlccustechnologies |