Africa Navarro

@article{cordoba-ramirez_experimental_2024,

title = {Experimental strategy for the preparation of adsorbent materials from torrefied palm kernel shell oriented to CO2 capture},

author = {Marlon Cordoba-Ramirez and Farid Chejne and Jader Alean and Carlos A. Gómez and África Navarro-Gil and Javier Ábrego and Gloria Gea},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32028-3},

doi = {10.1007/s11356-024-32028-3},

issn = {1614-7499},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-02-01},

urldate = {2024-02-01},

journal = {Environmental Science and Pollution Research},

abstract = {In this study, an experimental strategy to obtain biochar and activated carbon from torrefied palm kernel shell as an efficient material for CO2 removal was evaluated. Biochar was obtained by slow pyrolysis of palm kernel shell at different temperatures (350 °C, 550 °C, and 700 °C) and previously torrefied palm kernel shell at different temperatures (220 °C, 250 °C, and 280 °C). Subsequently, activated carbons were prepared by physical activation with CO2 from previously obtained biochar samples. The CO2 adsorption capacity was measured using TGA. The experimental results showed that there is a correlation between the change in the O/C and H/C ratios and the functional groups –OH and C=O observed via FTIR in the obtained char, indicating that both dehydration and deoxygenation reactions occur during torrefaction; this favors the deoxygenation reactions and makes them faster through CO2 liberation during the pyrolysis process. The microporous surface area shows a significant increase with higher pyrolysis temperatures, as a product of the continuous carbonization reactions, allowing more active sites for CO2 removal. Pyrolysis temperature is a key factor in CO2 adsorption capacity, leading to a CO2 adsorption capacity of up to 75 mg/gCO2 for biochar obtained at 700 °C from non-torrefied palm kernel shell (Char700). Activated carbon obtained from torrefied palm kernel shell at 280 °C (T280-CHAR700-AC) exhibited the highest CO2 adsorption capacity (101.9 mg/gCO2). Oxygen-containing functional groups have a direct impact on CO2 adsorption performance due to electron interactions between CO2 and these functional groups. These findings could provide a new experimental approach for obtaining optimal adsorbent materials exclusively derived from thermochemical conversion processes.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Gil-Lalaguna2022,

title = {CO2 adsorption on pyrolysis char from protein-containing livestock waste: How do proteins affect?},

author = {Noemí Gil-Lalaguna and África Navarro-Gil and Hans-Heinrich Carstensen and Joaquín Ruiz and Isabel Fonts and Jesús Ceamanos and María Benita Murillo and Gloria Gea},

doi = {10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.157395},

issn = {0048-9697},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-11-01},

urldate = {2022-11-01},

journal = {Science of The Total Environment},

volume = {846},

pages = {157395},

publisher = {Elsevier},

abstract = {Biogas generation through anaerobic digestion provides an interesting opportunity to valorize some types of animal waste materials whose management is increasingly complicated by legal and environmental restrictions. To successfully expand anaerobic digestion in livestock areas, operational issues such as digestate management must be addressed in an economical and environmentally sustainable way. Biogas upgrading is another necessary stage before intending it to add-value applications. The high concentration of CO2 in biogas results in a reduced caloric value, so the removal of CO2 would be beneficial for most end-users. The current work evaluates the CO2 uptake properties (thermogravimetry study) of low-cost adsorbent materials produced from the animal wastes generated in the livestock area itself, specifically via pyrolysis of poorly biodegradable materials, such as meat and bone meal, and the digestate from manure anaerobic digestion. Therefore, the new element in this study with respect to other studies found in the literature related to biochar-based CO2 adsorption performance is the presence of high content of pyrolyzed proteins in the adsorbent material. In this work, pyrolyzed chars from both meat and bone meal and co-digested manure have been proven to adsorb CO2 reversibly, and also the chars produced from their representative pure proteins (collagen and soybean protein), which were evaluated as model compounds for a better understanding of the individual performance of proteins. The ultra-microporosity developed in the protein chars during pyrolysis seems to be the main explanation for such CO2 uptake capacities, while neither the BET surface area nor N-functionalities on the char surface can properly explain the observed results. Although the CO2 adsorption capacities of these pristine chars (6–41.0 mg CO2/g char) are far away from data of commercially activated carbons ($sim$80 mg CO2/g char), this application opens a new via to integrate and valorize these wastes in the circular economy of the primary sector.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}