Novel bio-based solvents for CO2 removal through physical absorption

Physical absorption is one of the most applied and efficient methods for CO2 removal and it is primarily employed for CO2 separation from industrial gases, such as natural gas and syngas. This work aims at analyzing novel eco-friendly physical solvents, seeking potential environmentally sustainable alternatives to conventional solvents such as methanol, poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether, propylene carbonate and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. An extensive bibliographic review has been carried out to identify suitable solvents that have been evaluated based on their physical properties, interaction between their functional groups and CO2, potential production methods from biomass and properties such as Lethal Dose 50, Lethal Concentration 50, octanol-water partition coefficient and Ames mutagenicity. Finally, experimental data on the viscosity of these solvents and on CO2 solubility in them have been reviewed to identify few suitable candidates that will be subject to further investigation from both an experimental and modelling point of view.