Alternative technology towards clean and sustainable industry: Conversion of carbon dioxide gas into potassium carbonate

The increase in CO2 gas emissions by more than 50% between 2000 and 2023 from industrial processes has triggered an increase in greenhouse gases and global warming. Effective, efficient, and economical CO2 capture that can be integrated with existing processes to maintain environmental stability is greatly needed. The integration of influential factors in the absorption and diffusion-reaction processes must be well-combined to achieve the desired operating conditions. The research aims to analyze the occurring phenomena and determine the amount of K2CO3 product generated from the CO2 capture process by integrating influential factors, namely KOH concentration, reaction temperature, and stirring speed. Observations were conducted at 9800 Pa pressure, KOH solution concentration of 6-8 M, stirring speed of 200-300 rpm, reaction temperature of 30-50°C, CO2 flow rate of 2 dm3/minute, and reaction time of 150 minutes. The CO2 capture results were analyzed using gravimetric and instrumentation methods to evaluate the products. Observation results showed that the best conditions were obtained at 8 M KOH concentration, 300 rpm stirring speed, and 50°C reaction temperature, with KOH conversion reaching 53.43% and K2CO3 product of 54.94 grams. These results indicate that integrating influential factors in the absorption and diffusion-reaction processes positively impacts CO2 capture. However, the process is not optimal, as the KOH conversion is still far below 100%. Therefore, further research must be conducted by combining the previously studied influential factors such as reaction time, CO2 gas flow rate, and CO2 gas distributor holes to maximize KOH conversion and K2CO3 product yield.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025).