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Implementing Paris Climate Accord is inhibited by the high energy consumption of the state-of-the-art CO₂capture technologies due to the notoriously slow kinetics in CO₂desorption step of CO₂capture. To address the challenge, here we report that nanostructured TiO(OH)₂as a catalyst is capable of drastically increasing the rates of CO₂desorption from spent monoethanolamine (MEA) by over 4500%. This discovery makes CO₂capture successful at much lower temperatures, which not only dramatically reduces energy consumption but also amine losses and prevents emission of carcinogenic amine-decomposition byproducts. The catalytic effect of TiO(OH)₂is observed with Raman characterization. The stabilities of the catalyst and MEA are confirmed with 50 cyclic CO₂sorption and sorption. A possible mechanism is proposed for the TiO(OH)₂-catalyzed CO₂capture. TiO(OH)₂could be a key to the future success of Paris Climat e Accord.

 

Biochar is a carbon-rich material prepared from the pyrolysis of biomass under various conditions. Recently, biochar drew great attention due to its promising potential in climate change mitigation, soil amendment, and environmental control. Obviously, biochar can be a beneficial soil amendment in several ways including preventing nutrients loss due to leaching, increasing N and P mineralization, and enabling the microbial mediation of N2O and CO2 emissions. However, there are also conflicting reports on biochar effects, such as water logging and weathering induced change of surface properties that ultimately affects microbial growth and soil fertility. Despite the voluminous reports on soil and biochar properties, few studies have systematically addressed the effects of biochar on the sequestration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils. Information on microbially-mediated transformation of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) species in the soil environment remains relatively uncertain. A systematic documentation of how biochar influences the fate and transport of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen in soil is crucial to promoting biochar applications toward environmental sustainability. This report first provides an overview on the adsorption of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen species on biochar, particularly in soil systems. Then, the biochar-mediated transformation of organic species, and the transport of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soil systems are discussed. This review also reports on the weathering process of biochar and implications in the soil environment. Lastly, the current knowledge gaps and priority research directions for the biochar-amended systems in the future are assessed. This review focuses on literatures published in the past decade (2009–2021) on the adsorption, degradation, transport, weathering, and transformation of C, N, and P species in soil systems with respect to biochar applications.