Scalable production of wood carbon microspheres for high-efficiency carbon dioxide capture

Utilizing abundantly available biomass materials to prepare adsorbent substances is a simple and cost-effective method for CO2 adsorption, which, however, is often hampered by low adsorption capacity. Here, we demonstrate near-spherical active carbon (C-DWP/Zn) with high CO2 adsorption ability, employing delignification combination with ZnCl2 activation of natural wood powder. Removing lignin from wood cell walls facilitates easy absorption of Zn ions by the cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), thereby promoting micro/nano pores formation. Moreover, rapid dehydration of cellulose molecular chains alters the morphology of activated carbon, resulting in a transition from a granular to a near-spherical shape. Consequently, C-DWP/Zn with high specific surface area of 1776 m2 g−1, shows a significantly higher microporous volume than that of a control sample without delignification. The CO2 adsorption capacity of C-DWP/Zn, with values of 3.51 mmol g−1 and 5.12 mmol g−1 at 1 bar, 25 °C and 0 °C, respectively, is superior to that of commercial activated carbon. Attributable to its optimal micropore structure, C-DWP/Zn exhibits high CO2/N2 selectivity. Furthermore, the high carbon dioxide adsorption efficiency of C-DWP/Zn was maintained and the substance could be reused at least 20 times. Near-spherical active carbon adsorbents prepared from low-value wood powders, all featuring high CO2 adsorption performances, reasonable CO2/N2 selectivity, good recoverability, suitable heat of adsorption, and fast adsorption kinetics, which are promising candidates for practical CO2 adsorption.