Francesco Crea

Carbon dioxide (CO2) impacts the greenhouse effect significantly and results in global warming, prompting urgent attention to climate change concerns. In response, CO2 capture has emerged as a crucial process to capture carbon produced in industrial and power processes before its release into the atmosphere. The main aim of CO2 capture is to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gas and reduce the anthropogenic impact on climate change. Biopolymer nanocomposites offer a promising avenue for CO2 capture due to their renewable nature. These composites consist of biopolymers derived from biological sources and nanofillers like nanoparticles and nanotubes, enhancing the properties of the composite. Various biopolymers like chitosan, cellulose, carrageenan, and others, possessing unique functional groups, can interact with CO2 molecules. Nanofillers are incorporated to improve mechanical, thermal, and sorption properties, with materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and metallic nanoparticles enhancing surface area and porosity. The CO2 capture mechanism within biopolymer nanocomposites involves physical absorption, chemisorption, and physisorption, driven by functional groups like amino and hydroxyl groups in the biopolymer matrix. The integration of nanofillers further boosts CO2 adsorption capacity by increasing surface area and porosity. Numerous advanced materials, including biopolymeric derivatives like cellulose, alginate, and chitosan, are developed for CO2 capture technology, offering accessibility and cost-effectiveness. This semi-systematic literature review focuses on recent studies involving biopolymer-based materials for CO2 capture, providing an overview of composite materials enriched with nanomaterials, specifically based on cellulose, alginate, chitosan, and carrageenan; the choice of these biopolymers is dictated by the lack of a literature perspective focused on a currently relevant topic such as these biorenewable resources in the framework of carbon capture. The production and efficacy of biopolymer-based adsorbents and membranes are examined, shedding light on potential trends in global CO2 capture technology enhancement.