Synergistic effect of hierarchical pores and amine functionalization on CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption performance by distillers' grains-derived biochar spheres

ZHOU Rui; CHEN Jing; HE Jinglin; WANG Weihao; SU Hui; WANG Bangda; JIN Ziheng; JIANG Xia

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202605020

Volume 44 Issue 5

May 2026

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Article Navigation > ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING > 2026 > 44(5): 194-204

ZHOU Rui, CHEN Jing, HE Jinglin, WANG Weihao, SU Hui, WANG Bangda, JIN Ziheng, JIANG Xia. Synergistic effect of hierarchical pores and amine functionalization on CO2 adsorption performance by distillers' grains-derived biochar spheres[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(5): 194-204. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202605020

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ZHOU Rui, CHEN Jing, HE Jinglin, WANG Weihao, SU Hui, WANG Bangda, JIN Ziheng, JIANG Xia. Synergistic effect of hierarchical pores and amine functionalization on CO₂ adsorption performance by distillers' grains-derived biochar spheres[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(5): 194-204. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202605020

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Synergistic effect of hierarchical pores and amine functionalization on CO₂ adsorption performance by distillers' grains-derived biochar spheres

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202605020

1. College for Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610000, China;
2. Luzhou Laojiao Co., Ltd., Luzhou 646000, China

Received Date: 2025-06-26
Available Online: 2026-06-06

Abstract

Abstract

To address the issue of high carbon dioxide （CO₂） emission proportion in the industrial sector， distiller's grain waste can be used to prepare biochar， which is then used to adsorb CO₂ from industrial flue gas， thereby achieving the goal of carbon emission reduction. Owing to its porous structure， biochar can serve as a solid adsorbent for CO₂ capture； however， it still has drawbacks， such as weak pore adsorption capacity and difficulties in achieving selective capture of CO₂ from flue gas at high temperatures. To solve the aforementioned problems， in this study， distiller's grain pyrolysis biochar was used as the raw material， and pore-forming of biochar and simultaneous amine loading were carried out through ash self-templating and particle self-assembly methods， resulting in the preparation of amine-functionalized hierarchical porous carbon spheres. The results showed that the amine loading amount in the biochar spheres increased significantly， providing more CO₂ adsorption sites， and part of the macroporous structure was retained （the total pore volume after amine loading remained between 0.0030 cm³/g and 0.0066 cm³/g）， which was conducive to improving the morphological stability and CO₂ mass transfer rate. In particular， the 0.2PW-K-CNF-PEI carbon sphere exhibited excellent CO₂ adsorption capacity （1.03 mmol/g） at 100 ℃， a high CO₂ diffusion coefficient （0.0495 min^-1）， and superior selective CO₂ adsorption capacity （44 mg/g） at 80 ℃. This study provides a solution for the resource utilization of distiller's grain by-products and CO₂ capture from low-temperature flue gas.
- distillers' grains-derived biochar,
- self-assembly technology,
- amine functionalization,
- CO₂ adsorption

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References(53)

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