Carbon Dioxide Solubility in Nonionic Deep Eutectic Solvents Containing Phenolic Alcohols

Ahmad Alhadid; Javid Safarov; Liudmila Mokrushina; Karsten Müller; Mirjana Minceva

doi:10.3389/fchem.2022.864663

Carbon Dioxide Solubility in Nonionic Deep Eutectic Solvents Containing Phenolic Alcohols

Front Chem. 2022 Mar 22:10:864663. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.864663. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ahmad Alhadid¹, Javid Safarov², Liudmila Mokrushina³, Karsten Müller², Mirjana Minceva¹

Affiliations

¹ Biothermodynamics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, Germany.
² Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
³ Institute of Separation Science and Technology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.

Abstract

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are a new class of green solvents that have shown unique properties in several process applications. This study evaluates nonionic DES containing phenolic alcohols as solvents for carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture applications. Potential phenolic alcohols and the molar ratio between DES constituents were preselected for experimental investigations based on the conductor-like screening model for realistic solvation (COSMO-RS). CO₂ solubility was experimentally determined in two different DES, namely, L-menthol/thymol in 1:2 molar ratio and thymol/2,6-xylenol in 1:1 molar ratio, at various temperatures and pressures. CO₂ solubility in the studied systems was higher than that reported in the literature for ionic DES and ionic liquids. This study demonstrates that nonionic DES containing phenolic alcohols can be excellent, inexpensive, and simple solvents for CO₂ capture.

Keywords: CO2 capture; COSMO-RS; green solvents; hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents; ionic liquids.