Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991

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Journal of CO2 Utilization

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcou

Environmental and economic performance of carbon capture with

sodium hydroxide
Enrique Medina-Martos a, b, José-Luis Gálvez-Martos a, *, Jorge Almarza c, Carlos Lirio a,
Diego Iribarren a, Antonio Valente a, Javier Dufour a, b
a
Systems Analysis Unit, IMDEA Energy, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
b
Chemical and Environmental Engineering Group, Rey Juan Carlos University, Calle Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
c
Ecological World for Life España (EWL), Calle Castelló, 23, 2º Izda., 28001 Madrid, Spain

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Carbon capture and utilization processes can lead to the manufacture of carbonates with low, neutral or even
Carbon capture and utilization negative carbon footprint. In this sense, we consider the utilization of solid sodium hydroxide, NaOH, as an agent
CO2 mineralisation for CO2 capture in different conceptual approaches to produce usable carbonates. The experimental background
Sodium hydroxide
on this application has proven its technical feasibility, although the high cost and carbon footprint of the elec­
Sodium carbonate
trolytic production of NaOH, mainly due to high electricity consumption, are the main barriers for a widespread
Carbon footprint
Techno-economic analysis adoption. However, the use of NaOH has not yet been compared and benchmarked in the current and future
scenarios of carbon capture, where the share of renewable sources is progressively increasing in many national
electricity mixes and further applications of carbonates are potentially available. To account for these scenarios,
we considered different sources of CO2 and NaOH, and the potential utilization of the generated products.
Altogether, we evaluated 18 scenarios regarding the impact on life cycle global warming potential and fossil
resources depletion, along with the cost of capture. Results show that net emissions savings and potential cost
reductions are attainable for both flue-gas and air-based capture processes, provided that the resulting sodium
carbonate is used to substitute the current, Solvay-based, production of sodium carbonate.

1. Introduction emitted by industrial activities. Furthermore, the continued price esca­

The mitigation of the long-term impacts of global warming requires a
net reduction of CO2 emissions [1,2]. Among other options, Carbon
Capture and Storage (CCS) is recognised as a relevant strategy to achieve
industrial decarbonisation [3–5]. However, despite some large CCS
projects are currently operating [3,6], a broader deployment is pre­
vented by the uncertainty related to long-term security and high energy
penalty and costs [7].
In this context, Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) is referred to
those processes aimed to utilize captured CO2 as a raw material for
products or services with a potential market value [8–12]. Globally,
~230 Mt CO2 are used every year, being urea manufacturing and
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) the largest commercial applications [13].
Novel usage pathways involve the conversion of CO2 into fuels, chem­
icals and building materials. When compared to fossil carbon sources,
captured CO2 provides a more secure supply to produce such com­
modities, due to its higher availability, as long as it continues to be
lation of fossil fuels might be a synergic driver for CCU [14,15]. Yet, the
contribution of CCU to climate change mitigation is still of scarce sig­
nificance [8], since the demand for CO2-based products is far under its
production rate [7,8,14]. In spite of this, CCU is still conceptualized as
an initial incentive to skip the economic gap for CCS, as well as a vector
for local circular economy solutions [13,15].
Carbon capture technologies, which are common to both CCS and
CCU, are classified into three categories: (i) pre-combustion capture, (ii)
post-combustion capture and (iii) oxy-fuel combustion capture [14].
Post-combustion technologies, which involve capture from waste gas
streams, are the most developed and widespread option [6]. This in­
cludes absorption in solvents, adsorption by solid sorbents, membrane
separation, cryogenic separation, and pressure or vacuum swing
adsorption [14]. Within capture on solid sorbents, a subcategory is that
of CO2 carbonation (also referred to as mineralisation), which consists in
the reaction of CO2 with a metal oxide (typically Ca or Mg minerals) to
form insoluble solid carbonates [3,10,14,16]. As the energy state of

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: joseluis.galvez@imdea.org (J.-L. Gálvez-Martos).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2022.101991
Received 4 August 2021; Received in revised form 11 March 2022; Accepted 18 March 2022
Available online 4 April 2022
2212-9820/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
E. Medina-Martos et al. Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991

carbonates (60–180 kJ mol− 1) is lower than that of CO2 (400 kJ mol− 1), Table 1
they are considered a secure, long-term carbon sink [3,4]. Carbonation Overview of analyzed scenarios.
can be performed in-situ, when CO2 is injected into geological forma­ Scenario Carbon Source Source of Final Processing /
tions of minerals, such as serpentine or olivine, or ex-situ, if it occurs # capture of CO2 alkali/solvent product
above ground over already mined rocks or other sorbents [3]. Moreover, technology
carbonation might be direct or indirect, depending on the process taking 1 NaOH - solid Air Commercial Na2CO3
place in one or multiple steps [3,4,14]. NaOH
In this study, we consider the utilization of dry, solid NaOH as a 2 NaOH - solid Air Commercial Regeneration of
NaOH NaOH, CO2
sorbent in a fixed bed carbonation reactor. An experimental background compression and
on this application can be found in several references [16–21]. Its use in storage
CCS processes is often discarded due to the high energy required for the 3 NaOH - solid Air Commercial Construction
thermal regeneration of NaOH from carbonates [18]. This fact, in NaOH material
4 NaOH - solid Air Re-NaOH Na2CO3
addition to the high costs and the relatively high carbon footprint of
5 NaOH - solid Air Re-NaOH Regeneration of
electrolytic NaOH production, mainly due to high electricity consump­ NaOH, CO2
tion, are the primary barriers to employ it in carbon capture applica­ compression and
tions. However, this use has not yet been compared and benchmarked in storage
the current and future scenarios of carbon capture, where the electricity 6 NaOH - solid Air Re-NaOH Construction
material
for NaOH production is becoming increasingly renewable, further uti­ 7 NaOH - solid Flue Gas Commercial Na2CO3
lization options of carbonates are potentially available, and novel NaOH
technologies are being developed [22]. 8 NaOH - solid Flue Gas Commercial Regeneration of
In this context, the main novelty of this work is the thorough analysis NaOH NaOH, CO2
compression and
of such potential and prospective role of sodium hydroxide as a vehicle
storage
for the capture of CO2 within a life cycle perspective. The goal is to assess 9 NaOH - solid Flue Gas Commercial Construction
the environmental and economic feasibility of a carbon capture concept NaOH material
based on the direct carbonation of solid NaOH. A life cycle assessment 10 NaOH - solid Flue Gas Re-NaOH Na2CO3
(LCA) was conducted by comparing the target technology with others of 11 NaOH - solid Flue Gas Re-NaOH Regeneration of
NaOH, CO2
reference, namely amine scrubbing (currently the benchmark option for
compression and
post-combustion capture) and indirect calcium looping, which is an storage
alternative carbonation option often proposed for atmospheric CO2. This 12 NaOH - solid Flue Gas Re-NaOH Construction
study considers different sources of CO2 and NaOH, and the potential material
13 Amine - Air MDEA CO2 compression and
utilization of the generated products (carbonates or pure CO2). Alto­
MDEA storage
gether, 18 scenarios were evaluated regarding the life cycle greenhouse 14 Amine - Flue Gas MDEA CO2 compression and
gases (GHG) emissions and fossil resources depletion, along with the MDEA storage
evaluation of the cost of capture. 15 Ca-loop Air Commercial CO2 compression and
(NaOH) NaOH storage
16 Ca-loop Air Re-NaOH CO2 compression and
2. Methodology (NaOH) storage
17 Ca-loop Flue Gas Commercial CO2 compression and
2.1. Overview (NaOH) NaOH storage
18 Ca-loop Flue Gas Re-NaOH CO2 compression and
(NaOH) storage
This work follows a comparative approach to evaluate and bench­
mark the environmental and economic performance of several CCU
scenarios and CCS reference alternatives. Spanish conditions were abovementioned factors are described.
considered as far as possible (regarding e.g. electricity mix) due to the
presence of technology actors interested in the development and
commercialization of the core solutions assessed in this work. The 2.2. System description
formulation of scenarios for carbon capture depends on the following
factors: 2.2.1. Source of CO2 and reference flows
Source of CO2. Two sources of CO2 were considered: atmospheric air When air was the inlet gas, it was assumed to be composed by 0.04%
and flue gas from fossil fuel combustion. CO2, 79.01% N2 and 20.95% O2, on a volume basis, dry-free, since the
Source of NaOH (or the capture agent in the reference cases). For the water content does not affect calculations. The environmental condi­
analyzed system, two sources of NaOH were considered: commercial tions were 25.0 ºC and 1.00 bar in the calculations. The reference flow in
NaOH, produced from brine electrolysis assuming the 2017 Spanish this case was set to 1 t of CO2 per day at the capture point (i.e. the
electricity mix (31% renewable), and renewable sodium hydroxide (Re- amount of CO2 retained onsite by the capture equipment). This is the
NaOH), which assumes 100% electricity from wind turbines. For the amount of CO2 foreseen for the application of capture to the exhaust air
reference cases, methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) was considered in the stream from large commercial buildings, or from large scale street urban
amine-based processes. air cleaners, at an airflow of 50 – 60,000 m3/h. Larger scales are possible
Utilization of products. In solid NaOH systems, sodium carbonate was for the application of CO2 capture from air, but those would fall out of
assumed to be directly commercialized due to its high purity, employed the initial scope of the application of small size NaOH filters in urban air
for the fabrication of construction materials, or used to regenerate cleaners [23]. In the base case, this option is penalized with the energy
NaOH, while producing compressed CO2 for storage. consumption required to pump air and overcome the pressure drop
Capture technology. Three technologies were chosen: reaction with along the bed. Solid beds pressure drop were assumed at 5KPa, which
solid NaOH in a fixed bed reactor, solvent absorption with amines, and can be reduced by further design, but it is a first approximation to a
reaction with dissolved NaOH in a closed cycle using indirect calcium complex process where the bed material would be changing shape, size
looping. and chemistry. For liquid-solid absorbers 2 kPa were assumed as pres­
A summary of all analyzed scenarios is presented in Table 1. In the sure drop, as per measured ranges [24].
following sections, the assumptions and specificities of the In the case of flue gas, a combustion process (800 ºC, 16.0 bar, 15%

2
E. Medina-Martos et al.
air excess) of pure CH4 was assumed to produce the inlet stream to the
capture process. The composition (w/w) of the flue gas after expansion
(40.0 ºC, 2.50 bar) and NOx removal was 14.90% CO2, 80.50% N2,
2.80% O2, and 1.80% H2O. It must be noted that, in this study, these
combustion and conditioning stages are out of the system boundaries.
Here, the reference flow was set to 1 Mt of CO2 per year at the capture
point. For the base case, the flue gas stream was considered to overcome
the pressure drop in the absorption beds for all scenarios and no energy
consumption for compression or pumping is required at the inlet.
2.2.2. Capture technology
The targeted capture technology in this work is based on a gas-solid
chemical reaction in which solid NaOH reacts with CO2 in a gas stream.
Previous experiments have shown a high yield of CO2 uptake [22],
observing undetectable concentrations of CO2 after the reaction of pure
CO2 in a bed of sodium hydroxide. The obtained solid is mostly
composed by sodium carbonate, with a net consumption of 2 moles of
NaOH per mole of CO2, although the reaction can continue till the for­
mation of sodium bicarbonate (1 mol NaOH / mol CO2) under wet
conditions, as shown in the reaction scheme below:
2NaOH + CO2 ⇋Na2 CO3 + H2 O (1 A)
Na2 CO3 + CO2 + H2 O⇋2NaHCO3 (1B)
From a thermodynamic standpoint, in a theoretically adiabatic
process, a 100% conversion reaction of NaOH is plausible and was
assumed. This means the capture process would only rely on the utilized
amount of NaOH, being independent of the influx CO2 concentration.
Considering this, the functional unit (i.e. the unit describing the function
provided by the system) was selected as 1 kg of captured CO2 (i.e. 1 kg
CO2 at the point of capture). It was assumed that all NaOH converts to
sodium carbonate, as the heat released by reaction 1 A, which is highly
exothermic, would reverse reaction 1B and produce bicarbonate
decomposition. Experimentally, the reaction of CO2 with alkali can
reach yields higher than 90% in a few minutes in the appropriate re­
action set-up for flue gases [16], and over 40% in the case of atmo­
spheric concentrations of CO2; these yields were assumed in the
calculation of outlet gas composition.
Two reference systems were studied: absorption of CO2 with amines
and indirect calcium looping using NaOH. Chemical absorption using
aqueous amine solutions is currently the only mature technology
regarding CO2 capture, which has been widely deployed on industrial
applications from the late 1970s [10,25]. In a typical amine system, the
gas stream containing CO2 is fed at the bottom of an absorption column
(scrubber), while the aqueous amine solution is injected at the top. CO2
is transferred to the amine solution when both phases come into contact,
obtaining a CO2-depleted gas stream. The CO2-rich solution is then sent
to a stripper, where it is heated to release the CO2, whereas clean amine
is recycled to the absorber (Fig. S2 in ESI).
Traditionally, monoethanolamine (MEA) has been the benchmark
solvent for this application. However, other compounds such as piper­
azine (PZ), diethanolamine (DEA) and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)
have increasingly been studied and used over last years. Here, we
considered the use of MDEA following the approach of other authors
[25]. Furthermore, thermal regeneration, which is of high energy de­
mand and accounts for 80% of the operating cost for MEA-based cap­
ture, can be reduced if MDEA is chosen instead [26,27]. The energy
demand of MEA and MDEA solutions regeneration was reported 4.4 GJ
and 2 GJ per tonne of captured CO2, respectively [27].
The following electrolyte reaction system describes the absorption of
CO2 by MDEA [28]:
MDEA − H + + H2 O⇋MDEA + H3 O+ (2)
2H2 O⇋OH − + H3 O+ (3)
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Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991
CO2 + 2H2 O⇋HCO3 − + H3 O+ (4)
HCO3 − + H2 O⇋CO3 2− + H3 O+ (5)
The capture of CO2 from air through indirect calcium looping and
causticisation is based on the work by Keith et al. [29]. The process
consists of two connected chemical loops. In the first stage (air contactor
or absorber), CO2 is absorbed from the inlet gas by using an aqueous
solution of alkali to form carbonate. Then, in the second stage (pellet
reactor), the carbonate reacts with Ca(OH)2 to form again the alkali and
solid CaCO3, which precipitates. While the alkali is recycled to the first
stage, closing the first loop, the CaCO3 is calcined (thermally decom­
posed) at 900 ºC using natural gas as fuel with oxygen in a third stage,
producing CaO and CO2, which is compressed to 150 bar as per frame­
work assumptions. Finally, in stage 4 (slaker), CaO is hydrated to pro­
duce Ca(OH)2, which is recycled to stage 2, closing the second loop.
Although the original publication assumes KOH for the cycle, NaOH was
analyzed in this work (Fig. S3 in ESI). Since the process utilizes an
aqueous solution of NaOH and further includes its regeneration through
a thermal route using CaCO3 produced in a causticisation reactor, it can
be compared to other options for NaOH regeneration. The reaction
scheme is shown below:
Absorption:
CO2 (g) + 2NaOH(aq)⇋H2 O(l) + Na2 CO3 (aq) (6)
NaOH regeneration in the pellet reactor (causticisation):
Na2 CO3 (aq) + Ca(OH)2 (s)⇋CaCO3 (s) + 2NaOH(aq) (7)
Calcination:
CaCO3 (s)⇋CaO(s) + CO2 (g) (8)
Hydration:
CaO(s) + H2 O(l)⇋Ca(OH)2 (s) (9)
In this work, we assess four scenarios for this technology, scenarios
15–18 in Table 1, in which fresh NaOH (either conventional or renew­
able energy-based) is applied to both atmospheric CO2 capture and flue
gas processing.
2.2.3. Sodium hydroxide production
The chlor-alkali industry is the main producer of sodium hydroxide
in the world [30,31]. In this process, NaOH is produced along with Cl2
and H2 by electrolysis of NaCl. Two technologies account for most of the
installed capacity in Europe: membrane cell (85%) and diaphragm cell
(10%). The remaining 5% corresponds to the mercury cell (currently
phased-out) and alternative production routes [32]. For the sake of LCA
and cost calculations, in this study we assumed a weighted input-output
inventory that only considers the membrane and diaphragm technolo­
gies. Two options were regarded, depending on the electricity source
used for the electrolytic process:
- Commercial NaOH: utilizes the average Spanish electricity mix for
the year 2017, composed of ca. 30% input of renewable energy
sources, according to ecoinvent 3.7.1. cutoff modelling approach
[33].
- Renewable energy-based NaOH (Re-NaOH): based on the same
process inventory, but assumes 100% wind turbine electricity.
In those scenarios where NaOH was not considered, scenarios 13 and
14, commercial sources were assumed for the supply of the considered
capture agent, such as fresh MDEA, which impact was assumed equal to
that of diethanolamine for amine-based processes. Fresh lime was
considered the main input for indirect Ca-looping scenarios.
E. Medina-Martos et al.
2.2.4. Final processing and products utilization
As a general approach for NaOH-based cases, the substitution of the
commercial production of Na2CO3 through a modified Solvay process
[34] was considered, using the dataset from ecoinvent 3.7.1 to model
the avoided impacts. The main inputs and outputs of such processes are
shown in Fig. 1a.
Sodium carbonate could also be used for the regeneration of NaOH
and the production of a pure CO2 stream; in this regard, the thermal
route was discarded, as it was included in the reference processes (sce­
narios 15–18), so an electrolytic Cl2-free NaOH production process from
sodium carbonate was modelled as proposed in the state-of-the-art [35].
In this process, originally designed to decouple the production of NaOH
and Cl2, pure CO2 is produced and NaOH is obtained at a theoretical
maximum concentration of 16% (w/w) in water, achievable due to the
solubility limitations of Na2CO3. The applied voltage is that of water
electrolysis, slightly less than 2 V per cell. The achieved current effi­
ciency is 85%. With these data, we estimated the mass and energy
input-output balance, shown in Fig. 1b.
In addition to the generic substitution of commercial sodium car­
bonate, we also considered the final utilization of sodium carbonate to
produce a plaster-like construction material using Mg-rich brines in a
CCU approach [11,36,37]. Sodium carbonate reacts with Mg-rich brines
Fig. 1. Material and energy inventories of considered Na2CO3 utilization alternatives: a) Substitute for the production of commercial Na2CO3 via a modified Solvay
Process; b) Raw material for electrolytic chlorine-free NaOH regeneration; c) Raw material for the production of construction materials.
4
Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991
(e.g. desalination brines) to form MgCO33 H2O (nesquehonite), which
after a dehydration/rehydration sequence forms a coherent solid with
similar characteristics to gypsum plaster, which was assumed to be
substituted by the final magnesium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is
obtained as a by-product, which can substitute construction aggregates.
The hardening process releases 1/5 moles of the CO2 captured, as a
consequence of a chemical change in the carbonates. The mass and
energy balance of this option was modelled based on previous experi­
ence by the authors [11], as shown in Fig. 1c.
In all scenarios producing CO2 gaseous streams, e.g. as those with
NaOH regeneration, amine-based or indirect Ca looping (reference
technologies), a compression stage (150 bar) was included within the
analyzed system; no further impact from transportation or storage of
CO2 was considered within the system boundaries. All the solid products
are assumed to be transported by lorry 100 km after their production.
2.3. Life cycle assessment
2.3.1. Goal and scope
The goal of this LCA study was to evaluate and compare the life cycle
environmental performance of a number of systems aimed to capture
CO2 from atmospheric air or from a flue gas stream (coming from a
E. Medina-Martos et al.
nearby production plant). The functional unit of the systems was set as
1 kg of CO2 at the point of capture (after its absorption/reaction) from
either the air or the target flue gas stream. When other functions are
performed, multifunctionality was addressed through the consideration
of avoided burdens, which provide environmental credits. The flue gas
emitter was not credited with environmental benefits or impacts from
the processes. Furthermore, it should be noted that the emissions
captured from flue gas are avoided and those from the air are removed
from the atmosphere, and both consequently have a different character.
However, the two captured streams were modelled as negative emis­
sions in order to benchmark the life cycle performance of each capture
approach. In the case of flue gas, the industrial plant originating this
stream was not included within the system’s boundaries. A graphical
representation of the LCA scope is provided in Fig. 2.
2.3.2. Inventory data
Data acquisition for the inventory data of the foreground system, i.e.
the capture process, was based on the mass and energy balances of the
simulation models presented in the ESI. The ecoinvent database 3.7.1
was used to model the inputs and outputs of background processes in the
supply chain of raw materials and energy. The full list of ecoinvent ac­
tivities used to model the process are reported in the ESI.
2.3.3. Life cycle impact assessment
Two life cycle indicators were assessed: carbon footprint (i.e., global
warming impact potential with 100-year horizon; IPCC method 2013),
and the fossil resources depletion (i.e. abiotic resource depletion – fossil
fuels, ADP-fossil, from the CML2002 method). Both are recommended
by the Product Environmental Footprint methodology [38].
2.4. Techno-economic assessment
We evaluated the economic performance of the addressed scenarios
by means of the cost of the CO2 capture process, referred to 1 kg of CO2
retained at the point of capture. It can be defined as:
Fig. 2. General system definition for the studied scenarios.
5
Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991
( )
EUR2020
Capture ​ process ​ cost ​
kg CO2 captured
=
Annual Operating Costs (EUR2020 )
(10)
Annual mass of CO2 absorbed or adsorbed (kg)
The Annual Operating Costs (numerator in Eq. 10) are composed of
variable (flow-dependent) and fixed (flow-independent) costs. For the
variable costs we utilized unitary cost data published either by public
organisations or available in the literature. The revenues from secondary
products or by-products, which can be directly marketed, were sub­
tracted (i.e. accounted as negative costs). Fixed costs were mostly
calculated as a certain percentage of the investment cost. To estimate the
investment cost, we used the capacity ratioing approach (William’s
method), based on reference plant costs. No annualization of capital
costs was included in the calculation. All the main assumptions used in
the cost calculations are reported in Table 2.
Cost data were all updated to December 2020, by using the Producer
Plant Cost Index (PPI) for raw materials and the Chemical Engineering
Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for investment cots. For consistency, as most
cost references were found on a USD basis, we utilized the American PPI,
reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Then, all costs
were converted to EUR. All assumed unitary data costs, reference plant
investment costs and a deeper insight on the used indicators are pro­
vided in the ESI.
Special attention was given to the unitary cost assumed for NaOH, as
it is the key feature studied in this work. The reported cost of NaOH from
the UN Comtrade database for the Spanish imports from France was EUR
480 per tonne in 2019. To account for the influence of the considered
electricity source, first, we updated this cost to January 2020. Then a
cost change factor was added, which includes the cost change for the
consumption of wind electricity.
2.5. Sensitivity Analysis
In order to complete the analysis of the CO2 capture process, a
sensitivity analysis of the carbon footprint and costs of the approach
were implemented for the following factors:
E. Medina-Martos et al. Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991

Table 2 - alkali, sorbents and other raw materials, which include the life-cycle
Main techno-economic considerations assumed in the study. impact derived from the supply chain of chemicals;
Feature Value/Calculation/Comment - heating and electricity related impacts for each part of the process in
each scenario where it is relevant: capture (including regeneration of
Base Year 2020(EUR/USD) = 0.83
Currency EUR amines and of CaO in the reference units), electrolytic regeneration
Geographical Scope Europe of NaOH, or the manufacture of construction materials from sodium
Annual Operating Costs Variable Costs + Fixed Costs carbonate;
Variable Costs RM+U+C&A - avoided emissions of CO2 for (i) captured CO2, which is the same for
Raw Materials (RM) See ESI
Utilities (U) See ESI
all scenarios, (ii) avoided through the substitution of commercial
Consumables (C&A) 5% of M sodium carbonate, or (iii) avoided through the substitution of con­
Fixed costs OL&S+TAX+M ventional construction materials;
Labour, Supervision, Laboratory Based on European Salary, 50% of indirect - and those direct emissions from the processes, due to the decompo­
and Overheads (OL&S) costs, high level automation
sition of carbonates in the case of construction materials, and those
Taxes and Insurance (TAX) 1% of TIC
Maintenance (M) 3% of TIC related to transport needs.
Total Investment Cost (TIC) ISBL+OSBL+WC
Fixed Capital Investment ISBL+OSBL First, it is noticeable that under the considered assumptions, the
ISBL C2 = C1 (S2/S1)n a performance of CO2 capture from air is significantly worse than that
OSBL Not considered in this workb
Working Capital (WC) Not considered in this workb
from flue gas.The carbon footprint of all air-based systems is positive.
Thus, there is a net increase of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions to the
a
William’s method. The capital cost (C2) of a plant with a certain capacity (S2) atmosphere, driven mainly by the required electricity to overcome the
can be inferred from that (C1) of a similar plant with a different capacity (S1).
pressure drop. This observation is valid independently of what product
The exponent n accounts for the effect of scale (reduction of capital cost for
is obtained and assumed to offset the environmental impact (sodium
bigger plant capacities). In this work we used a value of 0.6, which is the average
carbonates or construction material), if sodium hydroxide is regenerated
for most chemical engineering plants. Reference plant costs are reported in the
ESI. (thermally or through electrolytic processes), or the capture agent is
b
OSBL and WC, as compared to ISBL, do not have an effect on the calculation changed (sodium hydroxide or amines). For air-based processes, the
of operating costs, which was the main focus of this work. carbon footprint of solid sodium hydroxide-based processes (scenarios
1–6), with higher energy consumption, is remarkably higher than that of
- The stoichiometry of the reaction. The molar ratio for the carbon­ amines capture (scenario 13), and 4–5 times that of indirect calcium
ation reaction assumed in the work is NaOH/CO2 = 2, producing looping (scenarios 15–16), which achieves the lowest footprint, at 0.5 kg
sodium carbonate as final product of capture. However, a different CO2 eq per kg of captured atmospheric CO2. These results were revisited
stoichiometry can occur if the reactor’s efficiency allows for a for 100% renewable electricity input and are shown along with its costs
recarbonation of sodium carbonate towards sodium bicarbonate. in a later stage.
Although the specific input of NaOH per mole of reacted CO2 would In the case of flue gas, several aspects can be highlighted from the
be halved, the avoidance of emissions would be conditioned by the results of Fig. 3:
industrial process used as the reference for the production of car­
bonates. This last option was considered in the sensitivity analysis. In ▪ The use of electrolytic regeneration of NaOH always involves a
this case, the substitution of commercial sodium bicarbonate pro­ net increase of the global warming impact in the assessed sce­
duction was assumed for the calculation of the environmental narios. In such cases, the consumption of electricity and heat in
impact, in parallel to the assumption made for sodium carbonate. the electrolytic regeneration of sodium hydroxide is a main
- Heat recovery. In the case of flue gas, the production of sodium contributor to positive emissions.
carbonate is an exothermic process, which can heat adiabatically up ▪ The avoidance of emissions from sodium carbonate production
to 350 ℃ the flue gas when it contains 10% (w/w) of CO2. A 50% is highly beneficial and leads to the lowest carbon footprint of
recovery of the heat produced was assumed, corresponding to the all the gas-solid adsorption approaches with sodium hydroxide.
production of low pressure steam to be used elsewhere, yielding 1.33 ▪ The use of renewable energy in the production of sodium hy­
MJ of heat coproduced per kg of CO2. This heat was considered to droxide is a major factor for a carbon-neutral or carbon-
avoid heat produced from natural gas in a low NOx burner. negative process, as observed for scenarios 10 and 12.
- Alkali and energy inputs. The footprint and costs of the alkali and ▪ A carbon-negative or carbon-neutral production system of a
energy (electricity and heat) inputs to the process were varied construction material is achievable in the case of renewable
± 20% in order to observe the process economic and environmental energy use in the production of sodium hydroxide. The off­
performance sensitivity against these factors. setting of gypsum plasterboard production generates a signifi­
cant environmental credit, although less important than the
3. Results and discussion avoidance of sodium carbonate production.
▪ Flue gas-based scenarios on the capture of CO2 with NaOH to
3.1. Inventory data substitute Solvay sodium carbonate (scenarios 7 and 10) have a
negative balance of GHG emissions and outperform amine-
Table 3 shows the inventory data for the foreground processes of all based processes. In these cases, the potential carbon footprint
the scenarios defined in Table 1. is lower than − 1 kg CO2 eq, i.e. these systems are able to avoid
emissions beyond the amount of CO2 contained in the flue gas.
3.2. LCA results
3.2.2. Energy footprint
3.2.1. Carbon footprint The results observed for the net balance of fossil fuel resources of the
The balance of the greenhouse gases for all the evaluated scenarios assessed scenarios are parallel to those for the GHG emissions, as
are shown in Fig. 3. The assessed categories of contribution are: observed in Fig. 4. However, the net values, in this case, are always
positive except for scenario 10, when CO2 is captured using solid sodium
hydroxide produced with renewable energy.
The other options involve an increase in the consumption of fossil

6
 E. Medina-Martos et al.
Table 3
Main inventory components and data per analyzed carbon capture scenario.
Scenario Unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

CO2 capture
Input
Commercial NaOH kg 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 0.15 0.109
Re-based NaOH kg 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 0.15 0.1087
Electricity, grid MJ 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 2.7 0.53 2.53 2.53 0.57 0.57
Heat, from NG MJ 71 5.1 0.04 0.04 0.0017 0.0017
NG kg 0.149 0.149 0.143 0.143
O2 (from ASU) kg 0.596 0.596 0.572 0.572
Water L 0.032 0.033 9.15 9.15 1.35 1.35
MDEA, consumed kg 0.0011 4E-6
Hydraulic lime kg 0.054 0.054 0.034 0.034
Output
MDEA emitted to atm. kg 0.0011 4E-6
Wastewater to treatment L 0.032 0.033 9.15 9.15 1.35 1.35
Avoided CO2 to atm. kg -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
Avoided Na2CO3 kg -2.41 -2.41 -2.41 -2.41
Distribution and logistics
7

Transport tkm 0.24 0.267 0.24 0.267 0.24 0.267 0.24 0.267
NaOH electrolytic regeneration
Input
Water L 19.4 19.4 19.4 19.4
Electricity, grid MJ 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1
Heat, NG MJ 20.1 20.1 20.1 20.1
Output
Comm. NaOH, regenerated kg -1.54 -1.54
Re-based NaOH, regenerated kg -1.54 -1.54
Wastewater to treatment. L 18.9 18.9 18.9 18.9
Plaster-like material production
Input
Water L 26.4 26.4 26.4 26.4
Electricity MJ 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66
Heat, NG MJ 2 2 2 2
Output

Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991

CO2 emissions to atm. kg 0.138 0.138 0.138 0.138
Avoided plaster-like product kg -2.16 -2.16 -2.16 -2.16
Avoided limestone-type aggregate kg -0.51 -0.51 -0.51 -0.51
E. Medina-Martos et al. Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991

Fig. 3. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for the assessed scenarios.

Fig. 4. Fossil fuel resource depletion for the assessed scenarios.

fuel resources: air-based processes (scenarios 1–6) produce a large of CO2.

depletion of fossil resources, while for flue gas, amine-based capture of
CO2 produces the lowest impact (scenario 14). Indirect calcium looping
(scenarios 17–18) increases the demand of fossil resources with respect
to amines (scenario 14); as a matter of fact, all of the alkali regeneration
approaches assessed in this studio (electrolytic or indirect Ca-looping)
have highly significant energy footprints, independently of the source
3.3. Economic results
The cost of CO2 capture for each scenario is represented in Fig. 5,
where the main contributions are also shown. As stated in the meth­
odology section, revenues correspond to negative costs as a consequence

8
E. Medina-Martos et al.
Fig. 5. Costs of capture for the assessed scenarios.
of the commercialization of the produced carbonates (sodium carbonate
for scenarios 1, 4, 8 and 10, and a plasterboard substitute for scenarios 3,
6, 9 and 12).
All the options involving CO2 capture from air involve prohibitive
costs. Even in the case of revenues from carbonates, the cost of capture
still remains above EUR 2 per kg of CO2. Most of this cost is caused by
fixed costs derived from the maintenance and labour for the in­
stallations. This is a main effect from the chosen size of the installation;
it is possible to further reduce the cost if a higher scale, e.g. 10000
tonnes per year were targeted; costs would be in the range EUR 0.4 – 0.8
per kg of captured CO2, in line with those estimated for direct air capture
[39]. It is also noticeable that the amount, and therefore costs, of heat
required in indirect Ca-looping is independent from the concentration of
CO2, since the generated calcium carbonate to be calcined is the same
per kg of captured CO2; this makes this option an interesting alternative
in comparison to amines for air capture, which require a much higher
amount of heat in the regeneration step for air-based products.
For flue gas, costs can be compensated if sodium carbonate is sold at
market prices, although the variability of the market could introduce
significant uncertainty in this balance. In any case, at the assumed pri­
ces, the capture of CO2 with commercial sodium hydroxide would yield
around EUR 11 per tonne of CO2, which could be increased up to 88 if
renewable hydroxide is used instead. These cases are represented by the
total negative values of scenarios 7 and 10 in Fig. 5. On the other hand,
the rest of the options with flue gas show costs of capture over EUR 0.3
per kg of CO2, a cost still too high if compared with the cost of amine-
based capture processes, at EUR 0.055 per kg of CO2.
Fig. 5 shows the large contribution of alkalis to the cost of capture, at
around EUR 0.8 – 0.9 per kg of CO2 captured. This situation is derived
from the high current market price (estimated at EUR 0.48 per kg in
2020) and the stoichiometry of the reaction towards sodium carbonate,
which results in a consumption of 1.82 kg of NaOH per kg of captured
CO2. Therefore, the viability of a capture approach based on sodium
hydroxide is highly dependent on several aspects: i) an efficient
compensation mechanism of costs through the commercialization of by-
products, such as sodium carbonate and carbonate-based construction
9
Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991
materials; ii) the regeneration of sodium hydroxide at low cost, which is
not achievable within the studied possibilities; and iii) the minimization
of energy and raw materials costs.
Another aspect derived from the analysis of costs is the parallelism
between the carbon footprint and the cost of capture. Indeed, both can
be interpreted as indicators of process performance and resource effi­
ciency in the supply chain and produce a very similar prioritization of
scenarios. The chart in Fig. 6a represents the cost of capture against the
carbon footprint and shows a clear division between air- and flue gas-
based processes; air-based approaches, under our assumptions, gener­
ally result in higher carbon footprints and costs.
However, all these results can easily be challenged by the assump­
tions made in the study, so a further evolution of the results can be
evaluated by increasing the scale of the installation for the atmospheric
capture of CO2 (Fig. 6b), from the initial 365 tonnes per year to 10,000
tonnes per year, and an scenario assuming a fully renewable electricity
scenario (Fig. 6c). The scale of the axis was kept for comparison pur­
poses. For further info, the full set of data for Fig. 6 is provided in the ESI.
As observed, the range of costs would align between flue gas and air-
based processes when a higher scale of production is assumed, therefore,
minimizing the contribution of fixed costs to the operating costs. The
range of costs for air-based process would be around EUR 0.2 – 0.8 per
kg of captured CO2 from air. It is also noticeable that when 100%
renewable electricity is assumed, most of the scenarios would fall into
negative footprint, i.e. they would effectively remove CO2 from the
emissions balance; three scenarios would remain positive: the two sce­
narios using commercial NaOH and air to produce carbonate-based
construction materials (scenarios 3 and 9), and the conventional
amines process applied to capture of CO2 from air (scenario 13).
3.4. Sensitivity
A sensitivity analysis was performed over scenarios 10, 11 and 12,
which are based on renewable sodium hydroxide to capture CO2 from
flue gas. The results are summarized in Fig. 7.
As observed, the production of sodium bicarbonate instead of
E. Medina-Martos et al. Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991

Fig. 6. Costs of capture vs GHG emissions (number of scenarios in brackets as datapoint): (a) original assumptions of the study, (b) using a 10000 tonnes per year as
calculation basis for atmospheric CO2 capture, (c) as per option b plus 100% of electricity from renewable sources (wind).

10
E. Medina-Martos et al.
Fig. 7. Sensitivity analysis of GHG gases and costs for scenarios 10, 11 and 12.
carbonate has almost no effect on the carbon footprint. This was only
assessed for scenario 10, since bicarbonate is not applicable to electro­
lytic regeneration or the production of construction materials. The effect
of the higher capture capacity towards sodium bicarbonate is compen­
sated, in terms of GHG savings, by the lower emissions avoidance ca­
pacity of the final solid. However, the achievable costs savings produced
in the capture of CO2 would increase by EUR 44 per tonne of captured
CO2.
Although energy recovery can slightly improve the environmental
performance and reduce costs, its influence is small in comparison to
other factors. Alkali costs and footprint, however, are highly significant
in scenario 10, which at the same time is not sensitive to energy costs or
carbon footprint. On the other hand, the electrolytic regeneration of the
alkali is highly sensitive to the energy source footprint and costs, in
contrast to a minor effect from the alkali supply chain.
The case of the production of a construction material based on car­
bonates shows a particular behaviour. Its sensitivity is significant to
alkali footprint and shows some minor dependence to the energy sources
footprint. Such influence is more relevant when costs are assessed. In
fact, the GHG balance varies from − 0.66 to − 0.40 kg CO2 eq per kg of
11
Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991
captured CO2 (range is 0.26 kg CO2eq), while operating costs vary from
EUR 0.14–0.46 per kg of captured CO2 (range is EUR 0.32).
4. Further discussion
This study focuses on the question whether NaOH is able to capture
CO2 in an environmentally sound and economically feasible manner.
Results from scenarios 7 and 10 indicate an affirmative answer to such
question, provided that the resulting sodium carbonate is used to sub­
stitute the actual, Solvay-based, production of sodium carbonate. We
showed in this study net GHG emissions savings to the atmosphere and
potential cost reductions (negative capture costs) are attainable.
Using the current performance of industrial processes, net reduction
emissions can sum up to − 2 kg of CO2 eq. per kg of captured CO2, if
sodium hydroxide is produced with renewable electricity, or − 1 kg CO2
if commercial sodium hydroxide is used. If sodium carbonate is not
commercialized or it does not substitute commercial carbonates, these
values are − 0.32 kg of CO2 eq (for renewable energy-based NaOH) and
+ 0.54 kg CO2 eq (for commercial NaOH) per kg of captured CO2. These
figures can be compared with benchmarks from studies using similar
E. Medina-Martos et al.
system boundaries. For example, Müller et al. [40], calculated an in­
terval of avoided emissions of − 0.59 to − 0.95 kg of CO2 eq. per kg of
captured CO2 for all the identified sources [40]. In the case of miner­
alization to carbonates, the use of alkaline wastes avoids also a signifi­
cant amount of CO2 emissions, ranging from clinker kiln dust at
− 0.86 kg of CO2 eq to fly ashes at − 0.55 kg CO2 eq per kg of captured
CO2 [41].
Therefore, the merit of climate change mitigation of sodium hy­
droxide is based on (i) the possibility of substituting industrially pro­
duced sodium carbonate, (ii) the performance of sodium hydroxide, able
to capture a large amount of CO2, and (iii) the use of renewable energy
in the production of sodium hydroxide. This last option constitutes the
most obvious low-hanging fruit: the current and future implementation
of renewable energy sources in the electricity market, along with the
increasing need to reduce the emissions of CO2 in the industry facilitates
the production of sodium hydroxide of lower carbon footprint. The share
of renewable sources in the assumed Spanish electricity mix is 31.4%
(2017 mix) and it is planned to evolve towards 74% by 2030 and to be
“climate neutral” by 2050 [42]. In line with this, the prospective anal­
ysis by Müller et al., showed that, in a low carbon economy, most of the
carbon capture processes should be driven by renewable energy [40].
In any case, the adoption of sodium hydroxide as a carbon capture
reactant can be further deployed if a method for its regeneration from
carbonates is feasible. In this study, two options were studied: electro­
lytic regeneration and indirect calcium looping. None of these regen­
eration options was able to actually reduce the GHG emissions to the
atmosphere, as the regeneration approach consumes a significant
amount of energy. But, the carbon intensity derived from energy con­
sumption could be reduced by (i) increasing the energy efficiency of the
process, e.g. by using another carbonate cycling to reduce the calcina­
tion temperature such as titanates [43], and by (ii) reducing the fossil
energy footprint of the process using cleaner energy sources as presented
in Fig. 6c.
For all the carbon capture and utilization approaches analyzed in this
work, the net GHG savings are attributed to the captured CO2 and no
emissions are accounted (avoided or added) to the emitter, e.g. if the
flue gas comes from power generation, the carbon footprint of electricity
is not assumed to be reduced. As per our assumptions, the emitter is not
affected by the capture process, thus allowing a fair prioritization of
carbon capture options. There is, however, a possibility of unfair carbon
footprint assessments, since, in many cases, the emitter is also respon­
sible (totally or partially, at least) for the investment on the CCU/S
application [44]. For example, if 50% of emissions savings are allocated
to the combustion of natural gas in scenario 10, the footprint of the
capture approach would yield approximately − 1 kg of CO2 eq per kg of
captured CO2, while power generation with natural gas would be allo­
cated − 1 kg CO2 eq, so the balance would yield a carbon-neutral elec­
tricity production.
Carbon neutrality or negativity from atmospheric CO2 was not
observed in the base cases used in this work, but cannot be discarded,
since the use of 100% renewable electricity yields negative footprints for
most of the air-based scenarios. The high energy consumption assumed
in several parts of the process, such as the initial air pumping, is
responsible for the larger impacts. In our assessment, we assumed a
pressure drop of 5 kPa in the NaOH bed, and 2 kPa in the other reference
options. These pressure drops are responsible for a significant energy
penalty of processes. An optimization towards the reduction of elec­
tricity consumption in the feed of air would efficiently reduce the carbon
footprint of air-based capture processes. For example, scenario 4, on the
use of renewable energy-based sodium hydroxide to capture CO2 from
air, yields a carbon footprint of + 1.43 kg of CO2 eq per kg of CO2. This
value can be reduced to − 1.1 kg of CO2 eq if the pressure drop decreases
to 2 kPa. The case of indirect calcium looping shows a positive footprint
for air capture (+0.50 to +0.57 kg CO2 per kg of captured CO2). This is
different from the carbon footprint reported by Müller et al. [40] for the
same technology, using KOH (− 0.59 kg CO2eq per kg of captured CO2),
12
Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991
as modelled by Keith et al. [29]. Our estimation assumes a NaOH solu­
tion as main absorber, a higher pressure drop in the absorption stage,
and losses of alkali are calculated from the required washing steps, while
Keith et al. assumed no losses or consumption of KOH in their approach.
In any case, a similar set of assumptions for our model of indirect cal­
cium looping would yield a carbon footprint of − 0.497 kg of CO2 eq per
kg of CO2 captured from air.
The direct capture of CO2 into solid NaOH is a technically simple
process with relatively low investment in comparison to other complex
approaches. However, its deployment is rather limited by the market of
by-products, the variability derived from the chlor-alkali industry, and
the price volatility in a complex relationship with the market of chem­
icals. In fact, the recent trends in Europe regarding PVC manufacturing,
one of the key drivers of chlorine demand, and the COVID-19 pandemic
are making the market and price of NaOH highly variable; in 2020 a
maximum at around EUR 415 per tonne in the Iberian market was
reached, which further decreased to EUR 249 by the end of 2020 [45].
Hence, the eco-efficiency of NaOH-based approaches for CCU is heavily
affected by market factors.
It is important to remark that CO2 capture technologies can involve
co-benefits linked to the reduction of other emissions such as SO2, NOx
and PM contained in flue gases or air, which concentration in the outlet
stream can drop down to by 95%, 2.5% and 50%, respectively [46]. This
would lead to the improvement of the environmental performance in
other environmental impact categories, which would probably help in
the further development of urban air cleaners. Since the present envi­
ronmental assessment is limited to the climate change impact, other
environmental pressures, such as those associated with resource con­
sumption and emissions to soil and water as well as non-GHGs emissions
to air are not reflected in the results of this analysis. In this regard,
further studies could focus on extending the scope of the present study to
other environmental impact categories and social implications which
are highly demanded aspects in decision- and policy-making processes.
5. Conclusions
Is sodium hydroxide able to capture CO2 in an environmentally
sound and economically feasible manner? The experimental evidence
from recent literature has proven the technical feasibility of its use in
gas-solid absorption reactors, although the high costs and the relatively
high carbon footprint of NaOH are the main barriers for carbon capture
applications. In this study, several scenarios were formulated to calcu­
late and compare their carbon and fossil energy footprints, and the cost
of capture. Net greenhouse gas emissions savings at low or even negative
costs were proven for flue gas and air under certain assumptions. The
merit of the climate change mitigation of sodium hydroxide was found
to be based on the possibility of substituting industrially produced car­
bonates or construction materials and on the use of renewable energy in
the electrolytic production of sodium hydroxide. None of the considered
NaOH regeneration cases was able to prove an actual reduction of
emissions, and only approaches regarding commercial substitution of
final products seem economically feasible. In addition, carbon neutrality
or negativity from atmospheric CO2 seems possible in the case of certain
process improvements, such as fully renewable energy use in the pro­
cess. The economic performance is in any case highly influenced by the
cost of sodium hydroxide production, which is in turn heavily affected
by the complex market of chlorine-based chemicals.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Enrique Medina-Martos: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal
analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review &
editing. José-Luis Gálvez-Martos: Conceptualization, Methodology,
Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review
& editing. Jorge Almarza. Conceptualization, Investigation, Resources,
Writing – review & editing. Carlos Lirio. Methodology, Formal analysis,
E. Medina-Martos et al. Journal of CO2 Utilization 60 (2022) 101991

Investigation. Diego Iribarren. Supervision, Writing – review & editing, [21] M. Saeidi, A. Ghaemi, K. Tahvildari, P. Derakhshi, Exploiting response surface
methodology (RSM) as a novel approach for the optimization of carbon dioxide
Formal analysis. Antonio Valente. Conceptualization, Investigation,
adsorption by dry sodium hydroxide, J. Chin. Chem. Soc. 65 (12) (2018)
Writing – review & editing. Javier Dufour. Supervision, Investigation, 1465–1475.
Writing – review & editing. [22] C. Ruiz, L. Rincón, R.R. Contreras, C. Sidney, J. Almarza, Sustainable and negative
carbon footprint solid-based NaOH technology for CO2capture, ACS Sustain.
Chem. Eng. 8 (51) (2020) 19003–19012.
Declaration of Competing Interest [23] C. Ruiz, L. Rincón, R.R. Contreras, C. Sidney, J. Almarza, Sustainable and negative
carbon footprint solid-based NaOH technology for CO2capture, ACS Sustain.
Chem. Eng. 8 (51) (2020) 19003–19012.
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial [24] A. Zakeri, A. Einbu, P.O. Wiig, L.E. Øi, H.F. Svendsen, Experimental investigation
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence of pressure drop, liquid hold-up and mass transfer parameters in a 0.5 m diameter
absorber column, Energy Procedia 4 (2011) 606–613.
the work reported in this paper. [25] S. Santos, J. Gomes, J. Bordado, Scale-up effects of CO2 capture by
methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) solutions in terms of loading capacity,
Technologies 4 (3) (2016 28) 19.
Appendix A. Supporting information
[26] B. Dutcher, M. Fan, A.G. Russell, Amine-based CO2 capture technology
development from the beginning of 2013—a review, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 7
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the (4) (2015 4) 2137–2148.
online version at doi:10.1016/j.jcou.2022.101991. [27] X. Li, S. Wang, C. Chen, Experimental study of energy requirement of CO2
desorption from rich solvent, Energy Procedia 37 (2013) 1836–1843.
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