Effective CO2 capture by in-situ nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon derived from waste antibiotic fermentation residues

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) 2023-09, Vol.333, p.121972-121972, Article 121972
• Main Authors: Liu, Peiliang, Qin, Shumeng, Wang, Jieni, Zhang, Shuqin, Tian, Yijun, Zhang, Fangfang, Liu, Chenxiao, Cao, Leichang, Zhou, Yanmei, Wang, Lin, Wei, Zhangdong, Zhang, Shicheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotic fermentation residues; CO2 adsorption; N doping; Nanoporous carbon
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121972

It is of great environmental benefit to rationally dispose of and utilize antibiotic fermentation residues. In this study, oxytetracycline fermentation residue was transformed into an in-situ nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon material with high CO2 adsorption performance by low-temperature pyrolysis pre-carbonization coupled with pyrolytic activation. The results indicated the activation under mild conditions (600 °C, KOH/OC = 2) was able to increase micropores and reduce the loss of in-situ nitrogen content. The developed microporous structure was beneficial for the filling adsorption of CO2, and the in-situ nitrogen doping in a high oxygen-containing carbon framework also strengthened the electrostatic adsorption with CO2. The maximum CO2 adsorption reached 4.38 mmol g−1 and 6.40 mmol g−1 at 25 °C and 0 °C (1 bar), respectively, with high CO2/N2 selectivity (32/1) and excellent reusability (decreased by 4% after 5 cycles). This study demonstrates the good application potential of oxytetracycline fermentation residue as in-situ nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon materials for CO2 capture. [Display omitted] •Antibiotic fermentation residues were transformed into nanoporous carbon materials.•The best-performing nanoporous carbon has a high nitrogen content of 4.83 wt%.•The maximum CO2 adsorption capacity reached 4.38 mmol g−1 with CO2/N2 of 32.•Micropores and content/specie of nitrogen groups are critical factors in CO2 capture.