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The imperative to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions from power generation plants, which account for approximately 40% of global emissions, necessitates developing and deploying carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. This study undertakes a comprehensive techno‐economic evaluation of three primary CO2 capture technologies—pre‐combustion, post‐combustion, and oxy‐fuel combustion—integrated with natural gas power plants. Utilizing Aspen HYSYS design simulation and economic assessments, the technical and economic viability of each technology were investigated, considering key metrics such as levelized cost of energy (LCOE), carbon emission intensity (CEI), cost of carbon avoidance (COA), investment costs, production costs, net present value, and rate of return. A multi‐criteria evaluation framework incorporating dimensional analysis was employed to compare the technologies, and the results revealed post‐combustion capture as the most viable option with a cost factor (CF) value of 0.85, striking an optimal balance between efficiency, costs, and environmental impact. With minimized TIC and TPC, well below the conventional processes, this study produced a unique framework for reducing costs in CCS technology deployment. Conversely, oxy‐fuel combustion has huge drawbacks regarding low profitability as it was found to have the highest total investment cost (TIC) of$8,258,483.99 and annual production cost (APC) of $ 9,234,870. In contrast, a higher CEI of 0.05 tCO2/MWh and COA of $150.33/tCO2 make pre‐combustion less environmentally friendly than the three technologies. The findings of this study provide critical insights to inform decision‐making in CCUS development, supporting a low‐carbon energy transition. Future research directions should focus on evaluating feasible configurations and optimizing post‐combustion capture technology for commercial‐scale deployment. Power generation plants contribute approximately 40% of global CO2 emissions, necessitating the development of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. This study evaluates the technical and economic viability of pre‐combustion, post‐combustion, and oxy‐fuel combustion CO2 capture methods integrated with natural gas power plants, using Aspen HYSYS simulations and economic analyses. Post‐combustion capture emerged as the most viable option with a cost factor of 0.85, balancing efficiency, cost, and environmental impact, while oxy‐fuel combustion and pre‐combustion methods were hindered by high costs and lower environmental performance, respectively, highlighting the need for optimized post‐combustion configurations for future deployment.

With the consequences of climate change becoming more urgent, there has never been a more pressing need for technologies that can help to reduce the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the most polluting sectors, such as power generation, steel, cement, and the chemical industry. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art technologies for carbon capture, for instance, post-combustion, pre-combustion, oxy-fuel combustion, chemical looping, and direct air capture. Moreover, already established carbon capture technologies, such as absorption, adsorption, and membrane-based separation, and emerging technologies like calcium looping or cryogenic separation are presented. Beyond carbon capture technologies, this review also discusses how captured CO2 can be securely stored (CCS) physically in deep saline aquifers or depleted gas and oil reservoirs, stored chemically via mineralization, or used in enhanced oil recovery. The concept of utilizing the captured CO2 (CCU) for producing value-added products, including formic acid, methanol, urea, or methane, towards a circular carbon economy will also be shortly discussed. Real-life applications, e.g., already pilot-scale continuous methane (CH4) production from flue gas CO2, are shown. Actual deployment of the most crucial technologies for the future will be explored in real-life applications. This review aims to provide a compact view of the most crucial technologies that should be considered when choosing to capture, store, or convert CO2, informing future researchers with efforts aimed at mitigating CO2 emissions and tackling the climate crisis.

In this review, we elucidate the central role played by fossil fuel combustion in the health-related effects that have been associated with inhalation of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5). We especially focus on individual properties and concentrations of metals commonly found in PM air pollution, as well as their sources and their adverse health effects, based on both epidemiologic and toxicological evidence. It is known that transition metals, such as Ni, V, Fe, and Cu, are highly capable of participating in redox reactions that produce oxidative stress. Therefore, particles that are enriched, per unit mass, in these metals, such as those from fossil fuel combustion, can have greater potential to produce health effects than other ambient particulate matter. Moreover, fossil fuel combustion particles also contain varying amounts of sulfur, and the acidic nature of the resulting sulfur compounds in particulate matter (e.g., as ammonium sulfate, ammonium bisulfate, or sulfuric acid) makes transition metals in particles more bioavailable, greatly enhancing the potential of fossil fuel combustion PM2.5 to cause oxidative stress and systemic health effects in the human body. In general, there is a need to further recognize particulate matter air pollution mass as a complex source-driven mixture, in order to more effectively quantify and regulate particle air pollution exposure health risks.

Activation of biomass burning aerosols (BBA) and fossil fuel combustion aerosols (FFA) in fogs and clouds significantly impact regional air quality through aqueous chemistry and climate by affecting cloud microphysics. However, we lack direct observations of how these aerosols behave in fogs and clouds. Using a newly developed aerosol‐cloud sampling system, we conducted observations during fog events and found that BBA, despite their high organic content, effectively contributed to super‐micron interstitial aerosols and fog droplets in low supersaturation fogs. In contrast, FFA, predominantly externally mixed organic, did not grow beyond the super‐micron size in fogs due to their near‐hydrophobic nature. Measurements conducted under supersaturations relevant for cloud formation revealed that portions of FFA could serve as cloud condensation nuclei, but only when supersaturation exceeded ∼0.14%. These findings have broad implications for future investigations into the influence of BBA and FFA on fog and cloud chemistry and their interactions with clouds. Plain Language Summary Tiny particles, known as aerosols, emitted from combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, can impact air quality and global climate by interacting with fog and clouds. However, we lack direct observational evidence of how these aerosols behave in these conditions. In our study, we developed an advanced aerosol‐cloud sampling system to observe aerosol activation during fog events. Our findings highlight a crucial factor of aerosol activation: the mixing of these aerosols. Biomass burning aerosols with an internal mixture of organic and inorganic components activate more easily, even in conditions with low supersaturation like fog. In contrast, fossil fuel combustion aerosols are often externally mixed and almost water‐repellent, requiring higher supersaturation to become cloud condensation nuclei. Understanding these distinctions has significant implications for regional air quality and the intricate interactions between aerosols and clouds. By gaining insights into how various aerosols interact with fog and clouds, we can enhance our understanding of their impact on our environment and climate. Key Points Advanced Aerosol‐Cloud sampling system was developed to characterize aerosol activation in fogs Biomass burning aerosols efficiently form fog droplets, while fossil fuel combustion aerosols are almost hydrophobic and don't contribute Fossil fuel combustion organic aerosols can serve as CCN in high supersaturation conditions (>0.14%)

Widespread household use of solid fuels releases massive amounts of carbonaceous aerosols in developing countries. Assessment of their roles in meteorology and climate change is considered low confidence by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Here, we leverage real‐world measurements to constrain the radiative absorption of light‐absorbing organic aerosols (i.e., brown carbon, BrC) from household coal and biofuel combustion within chemistry‐climate simulations. We determine the mass absorption efficiencies ranging from 0.7 to 3.2 m2 g−1 for coal and 2.1–5.8 m2 g−1 for biofuel, with an Absorption Ångström Exponent of about 5. Our improved simulations show that despite an ∼30% reduction from photobleaching, BrC radiative absorption still amounts to 16–49% of black carbon absorption in China, 2–7 times that simulated by commonly used parameterizations. Such importance of household‐derived BrC also exists in South Asia and Central Africa. Our results help reevaluate the intricate effects of anthropogenic emissions on weather and climate.

Oxy-fuel combustion is a near-zero emission technology that utilizes high-concentration O2 in place of air, combined with recycled flue gas, to achieve efficient combustion and enable effective CO2 capture. In this study, air (21% O2/79% N2) was used as the control atmosphere, and rice straw combustion experiments were conducted using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry coupled with mass spectrometry (TG-MS) at heating rates of 10, 20, and 30 °C/min under oxy-fuel conditions of 30% O2/70% CO2, 50% O2/50% CO2, and 70% O2/30%CO2. The combustion behavior, pollutant emissions, reaction kinetics, and underlying mechanisms were systematically evaluated. The results show that CO2 in oxy-fuel atmospheres exhibits a higher thermal inertia, due to its greater density and specific heat capacity, thereby enhancing flame stability. Oxy-fuel atmospheres reduce the ignition temperature (Tᵢ) and burnout temperature (Tf), shorten the combustion duration, shift DTG and DSC peaks to lower temperatures, and result in sharper peaks along with an increased ignition index (Cᵢ), burnout index (Cb), and comprehensive combustion index (S). Mass spectrometry (MS) analysis reveals that oxy-fuel atmospheres combined with heating rates of 20–30 °C/min suppress O2 diffusion and thermal NO formation, reducing NOx emissions by over 75% and simultaneously inhibiting the release of SO2 and COS. Kinetic analysis using the FWO and Friedman methods shows that the activation energy decreases from 210.5 kJ/mol and 219.1 kJ/mol under air conditions to 110.5 kJ/mol and 114.6 kJ/mol in oxy-fuel atmospheres, representing a reduction in reaction barriers of 47.5% and 47.7%, respectively. The reaction mechanisms were identified as three-dimensional diffusion-controlled processes at heating rates of 20–30 °C/min, and random nucleation followed by growth under high O2 concentration conditions at a heating rate of 30 °C/min. Optimizing the combustion atmosphere and heating rate enhances the rice straw combustion efficiency and reduces pollutant emissions, thereby providing theoretical support for its clean and efficient utilization.

A global scientific interest is observed for alternative utilization of biomass wastes in the context of circular economy. Transforming waste into biofuels is a sustainable solution for dealing with global environmental issues. This article reviews recent trends and the development of biomass waste combustion technologies for energy recovery. Not only the latest scientific progress on combustion processes but also several innovative advanced technologies, such as carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technologies, oxy-fuel combustion, and chemical looping combustion (CLC) are analyzed. More specifically, combustion technologies such as fixed bed combustion, bubbling fluidized bed combustion (BFBC), circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC), pulverized fuel combustion (PC), oxy-biomass combustion in pulverization systems (Oxy-PC), oxy-biomass combustion in Bubbling fluidized bed combustors (Oxy-BFB), oxy-biomass combustion in circulating fluidized bed systems (Oxy-CFB), and biomass chemical looping combustion (CLC) are analyzed. Advantages and limitations of each advanced combustion method are also discussed. In addition, recent applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for optimizing bioenergy processes and mitigating greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions are presented. The combination of these advanced combustion technologies (CCS/CLC) with intelligence tools (AI/ML) can lead to enhanced combustion efficiency, reduced secondary wastes, better waste management, and reduced emissions. This comprehensive analysis could assist scientists and decision-makers in choosing the appropriate sustainable advanced waste-to-energy (WtE) technology. More studies should be performed in advanced AI-based smart bioenergy production to optimize the best solution in alternative feedstocks, operating parameters, green nanomaterials, and zero emissions for enhanced plant performance and reduced environmental issues.Article HighlightsAdvanced biomass combustion with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technologies.Artificial intelligence models for fuel properties prediction, enhance combustion efficiency, and reduce emissions.Advanced Oxy-fuel combustion with CCS and AI technologies can improve efficiency and decrease emissions.

In general, a leaner mixture condition improves combustion efficiency in compression ignition (CI) combustion using diesel. However, in the case of leaner air–fuel mixture conditions, it disturbs flame propagation in spark ignition combustion using gasoline, i.e., low reactivity fuel, causing a decrease in combustion efficiency. Since dual-fuel combustion in a CI engine typically involves the use of high- and low-reactivity fuels together, the differing reactivity conditions in the cylinder become as important as the local equivalence ratio in the cylinder. Thus, there is a need to verify the effect of a leaner mixture condition on combustion efficiency in dual-fuel CI combustion. For this reason, this study experimentally evaluates the effects of varying equivalence ratios on the combustion efficiency of gasoline/diesel dual-fueled CI combustion in a 0.4-L single-cylinder engine under low-speed (1500 rpm) and low-load (total LHV 570 J/str) conditions. To vary the equivalence ratios, intake pressures and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates were, respectively, changed under the part-load condition. The results emphasize that as the equivalence ratio becomes leaner by increasing the intake pressure, combustion efficiency worsens due to the low reactivity properties and certain flame propagation modes of gasoline combustion. On the contrary, increasing the EGR rate did not significantly influence combustion efficiency, but it effectively helped reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Based on these results, it is concluded that optimizing dual-fuel CI combustion to suppress NOx emissions is better achieved using EGR, rather than creating a leaner mixture condition.

As the next-generation oxy-fuel combustion technology for controlling CO 2 emissions, pressurized oxy-fuel combustion (POC) technology can further reduce system energy consumption and improve system efficiency compared with atmospheric oxy-fuel combustion. The oxy-fuel combustion causes high CO 2 concentration, which has a series of effects on the combustion reaction process, making the radiation and reaction characteristics different from air-fuel conditions. Under the pressurized oxy-fuel condition, the combustion reaction characteristics are affected by the coupling effect of pressure and atmosphere. The radiation and heat transfer characteristics of the combustion medium are also affected by pressure. In recent years, there have been many studies on POC. This review pays attention to the thermal-science fundamental research. It summarizes several typical POC systems in the world from the perspective of system thermodynamic construction. Moreover, it reviews, in detail, the current research results of POC in terms of heat transfer characteristics (radiant heat transfer and convective heat transfer), combustion characteristics, and pollutant emissions, among which the radiation heat transfer and thermal radiation model are the focus of this paper. Furthermore, it discusses the development and research direction of POC technology. It aims to provide references for scientific research and industrial application of POC technology.

In this study, the effect of additives on particulate matter (PM) and flue gas emissions during the co-combustion of poultry waste and pine woodchips in air and oxy-fuel combustion conditions was examined. The appropriate additive for the fuel mixture to reduce PM emissions has been selected by a fast screening method based on thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in oxygen environment. Among the additives CaHPO 4 , MgCO 3 , MnCO 3 , MgPO 4 , kaolin, CaO, and Zn, the most suitable ones were determined as Zn and MgCO 3 . The thermal degradation performance of biofuels containing 2 wt% additives was examined by TGA method under pyrolysis, combustion, and oxy-fuel combustion conditions. Ashes obtained from the additivated biofuel mixture were examined by XRF, XRD, and SEM–EDS analyses, and the effect of additives on the ash structure was investigated. Flue gas emissions of co-firing biofuel were analyzed by TGA-FTIR. It has been observed that the highest emission is CO 2 , and the oxy-fuel combustion process and addivation have shown reducing effect on CO 2 emissions. Under oxy-fuel combustion conditions, higher CO and lower NOx, SO 2 , and HCl emissions occurred at a lower rate compared to the air environment, and additives also showed a reducing effect. The composition and crystal structure of Zn-additivated biofuel ash support its reducing effect in PM emissions. It was concluded that Zn is a more suitable additive in terms of PM and flue gas emissions than MgCO 3 .