Reactive Capture of CO2: Opportunities and Challenges

Reactive capture of CO2 (RCC) refers to the process integration of CO2 capture with the conversion of the captured CO2 into a product. The RCC approach does not include a step where CO2 is released (thermally) from the capture agent and thus has the potential to provide significant energy savings relative to traditional CO2 capture and release processes. This Perspective highlights just a selection of prior contributions to CO2 capture chemistry, thermal RCC, and electrochemically driven RCC. Opportunities relative to traditional CO2 capture and release and relative to traditional CO2 reduction are highlighted, and challenges for future development are mentioned. RCC will require a multidisciplinary approach across industry, chemistry, chemical engineering, and advanced manufacturing, and this Perspective was written with a view to bridge some of these areas.