Post-combustion carbon capture is the underpinning technology and necessary choice for low-carbon power generation, yet its integration into natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants will significantly reduce the plants’ power generation efficiency. In order to reduce the efficiency penalty of the power plants integrated with decarbonization system and improve the energy utilization efficiency of the integrated system, a novel post-combustion carbon capture process that comprehensively recovers the waste heat and liquefied natural gas cold energy is innovatively proposed. Firstly, the key operating parameters of the conventional carbon capture process, including stripper pressure and lean solvent loading, are optimized with sensitivity analysis. On this basis, design and evaluation of novel process is performed. In the novel process, a back-pressure turbine is utilized to recover the pressure energy of the extracted low-pressure steam and assist the lean vapor compression as well as recover the inter-cooling heat of CO₂ compression to heat the reflux condensate of the stripper, which reduces the minimum regeneration energy consumption by 17.3% (to 3.35 GJ) at the flash pressure drop of 90 kPa. Furthermore, the extracted low-pressure steam is reduced from 68.40 kg/s to 48.95 kg/s by recovering the superheat of steam extraction. Aiming at solving the problems of high energy consumption of the conventional CO₂ compression process and the waste of cold energy in the liquefied natural gas regasification process, a novel CO₂ two-stage compression and intermediate liquefication process is proposed, reducing compression work by 34.5%, and the cooling load and the number of equipment were significantly decreased. Exergy analysis results show that the exergy efficiencies of the novel carbon capture process and CO₂ compression process increase from 23.12% and 62.19% to 29.48% and 65.96%, respectively. The simulation results show that, the net power output of the plant integrated with the novel carbon capture process increases from 341.93 MW to 358.75 MW, resulting in a significant energy saving by increasing the net power output efficiency from 48.85% to 51.25% and decreasing the efficiency penalty from 13.77% to 9.53%.

Light spectrum regulation is an effective way to promote carbon fixation of haematococcus pluvialis. The carbon fixation capacity of haematococcus pluvialis was compared under different light conditions, and the effects of the mixed red and blue light with different spectral ratios on the carbon fixation performance of haematococcus pluvialis were studied. Gene expressions at different vegetative stages were compared to figure out the dynamic changes of haematococcus pluvialis metabolism on the time scale. The results show that, the carbon fixation rate in red light was 40% higher than that in blue light. By comparing the whole-genome transcriptome of the haematococcus pluvialis, the metabolic responses of the haematococcus pluvialis to different light qualities, including biomass accumulation, energy transfer, photosynthesis, stress and transcription, were analyzed at the molecular level. The metabolism and energy transfer of the haematococcus pluvialis were more active in red light than that in blue light. At the early growth stage, cells under the red light dominant condition tended to accumulate regulatory substances rather than energy storage substances, and genes involved in glycolysis/ gluconeogenesis pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway were up-regulated. Cells under the blue light dominant condition performed better in stress response.

Xinjiang Zhundong coal has abundant reserves and contains a relatively high content of alkaline earth metal elements. The high-calcium fly ash generated from its combustion serves as an excellent raw material for CO₂ sequestration. By adopting the atmospheric pressure direct wet carbonation process, research and optimization analysis were carried out on the carbonation of high-calcium fly ash, focusing on key parameters such as flue gas flow rate, temperature, and solid-liquid ratio. A kinetic model was constructed to determine the key factors and rate-controlling steps. Meanwhile, the performance of this process in chlorine removal and heavy metal removal was evaluated. It was found that, increasing the flue gas flow rate and reducing the solid-liquid ratio can effectively enhance the degree of carbonation per unit mass of fly ash. During the rapid carbonation stage (0~20 min), low temperature is beneficial for increasing the degree of carbonation, but the effect is not significant. In the rapid carbonation zone, the reaction of fly ash is mainly controlled by solid-film diffusion, with a correlation coefficient of 0.917 37 and an activation energy of 10.36 kJ/mol. After optimization by the response surface method, the optimal operating condition parameters are as follows: temperature of 57.1 ℃, flue gas flow rate of 2.86 L/min, and solid-liquid ratio of 200.0 g/L. Under these conditions, the average actual degree of carbonation reaches 30.2%. The chlorine content of the fly ash processed according to these parameters meets the requirements for reinforced products in the JC/T 409—2016 standard. For typical heavy metals such as arsenic and copper, the removal rates reach 88.4% and 55.6% respectively, indicating that this process has a certain detoxification ability. Therefore, the atmospheric wet carbonation of high calcium fly ash in Zhundong has great potential for application.

In post-combustion CO₂ capture, organic amine absorbents are prone to degradation, forming heat-stable salts (HSS) that impair absorption performance and accelerate equipment corrosion. Electrodialysis (ED), operating under ambient conditions with high HSS removal efficiency, has emerged as a promising technology for amine recovery. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in ED for amine solvent recovery, covering the configurations of different ED systems and the mechanisms by which key process parameters (voltage, current density, initial HSS concentration, CO₂ loading, etc.) affect removal efficiency, amine loss, and energy consumption. It highlights process optimization strategies such as multi-stage membrane stacks and ED coupling with resins or bipolar membranes, and compares industrial performance data across different applications. Finally, challenges related to membrane stability, energy consumption, and cost control are discussed, with perspectives on future development directions for ED-based amine recovery in carbon capture systems.

Chemical absorption using amine solution takes the dominant position for post combustion CO₂ capture of coal-fired power plants, the regeneration of amine is thermally driven, consuming large amount of steam extracted from turbine units, which results in severe power generation efficiency penalty and higher power generation cost. This limitation restricts its large-scale application in terms of both single-unit capacity and project quantity. Optimizing the heat application method in the system is an important approach to address the aforementioned issues. Focusing on the thermal energy integration utilization between the carbon capture subsystem and the power plant system, discussions and investigations are performed from the perspectives of thermal integration optimization theory and engineering energy system optimization. In terms of thermal integration optimization theory, the principles, usage methods, application results and the limitations of the exergy analysis and the pinch point analysis method in coal-fired carbon capture systems are discussed, and the suggested research interests are proposed. In the aspect of engineering energy system optimization, the beneficial effects of steam extraction parameters optimization, superheated steam utilization methods, condensate waste heat utilization methods, carbon capture and compression waste heat utilization methods, and various auxiliary machine application methods are analyzed, as well as the feasibility and economic problem of the mentioned methods during implementations. The research can provide references and ideas for further reducing system energy consumption of carbon capture of coal-fired power plants.

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology has made significant progress in reducing CO₂ emissions in recent years, but its large-scale application is hindered by high energy consumption and high complexity. To enhance energy utilization efficiency, integrated of carbon capture and utilization (ICCU) has emerged as a promising research focus. ICCU process enables the capture and in situ conversion of CO₂ via dual-functional materials (DFM), converting the captured CO₂ directly into economically valuable chemicals with high efficiency. Compared with the conventional CCUS technologies, ICCU significantly simplifies processes such as desorption, compression, and transportation, demonstrating substantial potential for large-scale application. This review focuses on ICCU-methanation (ICCU-Met) process, first providing a systematic introduction to the process and a thermodynamic analysis of its feasibility. Then, the DFMs used in ICCU-Met are discussed intensively, their performance is compared in terms of CO₂ capture capacity, catalytic activity, and stability. The review also critically examines the scaling-up challenges of ICCU-Met technology in practical applications, including issues such as the effects of real-world flue gas conditions, reactor design, and economic feasibility. Finally, the review summarizes the developmental bottlenecks of this process and proposes potential research directions for the future.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage technology is an important way to realize the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals in China. Among them, the non-aqueous phase absorbents have great energy-saving potential, and it is suitable for the existing mixed amine reactor, which has a large development potential. However, there are still problems such as high viscosity of CO₂ saturated solution and low circulating load. In this regard, a non-aqueous absorption system with low viscosity and regeneration temperature was constructed using secondary amine MCA as the absorbing component and EG as the organic solvent. The absorption and regeneration performance of MCA/EG was investigated. The results showed that, the absorption load of 3 mol/L MCA/EG solvent was up to 2.14 mol/L, and the viscosity was only 44.19 mPa∙s. Under the condition of absorption at 40 ℃ for 30 min and regeneration at 80 ℃ for 25 min, the cyclic load was as high as 0.98 mol/L, which is 1.46 times of the cyclic load of 30% MEA/H₂O solution at 105.5 ℃. The reaction heat of the absorbent was measured to be -82.85 kJ/mol by C80 microcalorimeter, which was lower than that of the MEA/H₂O solution. The reaction mechanism of CO₂ capture by MCA/EG was explored by ¹³C NMR and quantum chemical calculations. It was found that the stability of the reaction products was reduced for the steric hindrance effect of MCA. The carbamates transform into alkyl carbonate by reacting with EG to realize the regeneration at low temperatures. MCA/EG can realize the stable operation of non-aqueous phase absorbent and expand the scope of waste heat utilization in absorbent regeneration, which has a great advantage of energy reduction.

To investigate the dominant role and mechanism of solid particles in enhancing mass and heat transfer and catalytic effects during CO₂ desorption from rich liquids, nano-titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and zeolite (HZSM-5) are selected as representative particles to represent the enhancement of heat and mass transfer and chemical catalytic effects, respectively. A continuous stirring reactor was set up, and the ratio of CO₂ desorption rate from rich liquids with and without particle addition was defined as the desorption enhancement factor. The effects of varying particle mass fraction, particle size, stirring speed, CO₂ loading of the rich liquid, and absorbent type on the CO₂ desorption enhancement were systematically investigated. The results show that, the HZSM-5 particles achieve a higher desorption enhancement factor compared with the TiO₂ particles, this is primarily due to the higher micropore surface area and Brønsted acid site coupling parameters of HZSM-5 particles. Additionally, the desorption enhancement factor for TiO₂ is less affected by operational conditions, fluctuating between 1.00 and 1.20. In contrast, increasing the particle mass fraction and CO₂ loading in the rich liquid significantly enhances the desorption effect of HZSM-5, with the desorption enhancement factor reaching up to 2.25. A linear relationship was observed between the HCO₃^– concentration in the rich liquid and the desorption enhancement factor for HZSM-5, indicating that HZSM-5 particles promote the CO₂ desorption process by enhancing the reaction pathway related to HCO₃^–. This finding provides a theoretical basis for further optimizing the design of solid particles and improving CO₂ desorption efficiency from rich liquids.

With the launch and promotion of national carbon trading market, accurate carbon emission data of emission control enterprises is crucial for the government to formulate policies and build carbon trading mechanisms. The current official carbon emission accounting method in China, the emission factor method, is simple and easy to use, but is highly influenced by human factors and can easily lead to quality issues with carbon data. Therefore, a rapid analysis method for coal quality indicators suitable for coal-fired power plants in the carbon market is developed based on laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology. Combined with partial least squares regression (PLSR), a predictive model for carbon content and heat generation of coal elements is established. The results show that, the average absolute error (AAE) of the prediction set for the established dry based high calorific value and carbon content model is 1.10 MJ/kg and 2.72%, respectively, which can achieve fast and high-frequency detection of daily coal samples in power plants. In the application research of carbon accounting, examples show that, compared with the conventional daily measurement method, the relative deviation of monthly carbon emissions accounting obtained by the LIBS rapid detection method for daily measurement is only 0.40%, which is more accurate than that obtained by the monthly reduced coal sample detection method. In the application research of carbon verification, based on the results of the element carbon content measurement method, the average relative error (ARE) of the carbon emissions calculated using the LIBS rapid detection method has a reduction of 6.73~18.99 percentage points compared with that using the complete default value method. The LIBS rapid detection method has a testing accuracy that is close to conventional laboratory results, which can be applied to carbon verification and coal quality data verification, and be developed into a fast and low-cost practical technology to assist carbon accounting.

Post-combustion capture is a bottom-up technology for achieving carbon neutrality, but the high costs associated with carbon capture are detrimental to the application of this technology. In order to investigate the sensitivities to changes in the cost of carbon capture, compression and liquefaction, the costs incurred by different process parameters and absorbent types were modelled. The results show that, increasing the number of plates in the absorption tower promotes the efficiency of CO₂ capture by absorbent, with a corresponding rise in investment costs. The increase of absorber temperature at the inlet of the absorber tower does not show a significant decrease in capture rate, but the reduction of coolant and water usage reduces the operating cost to a certain extent. In addition, the reboiling ratio has the greatest influence on the CO₂ capture rate and cost, which may be the key factor for cost reduction. At the same time, the energy consumption of the system with different liquefaction pressures and different numbers of compression stages was compared, and it is found that the lower the liquefaction pressure and the higher the number of compression stages, the higher the total cost, and the equipment investment cost and operation and maintenance cost changes more obviously, while the utility costs are less affected.