Evaluating the Potential Environmental and Human Toxicity of Solvents Proposed for use in Post-Combustion Carbon Capture

Abstract

Carbon dioxide emitted by industrial activities is a growing concern due to the effects on global climate. For this reason, firms are being urged to lower their carbon footprint. Post combustion carbon capture is being explored as a method for the power and materials industries to decarbonize. The most mature technique of carbon capture is amine absorption. Different amines are being explored to potentially be used within post-combustion carbon capture units. Many biological molecules are amines, and amines that resemble them can disrupt biological processes, harming organisms. In addition, if an amine is soluble within lipids, it can persist within the food chain and cause long term toxic effects that are not immediately visible. 151 solvents were compared based on four properties: volatility, lipophilicity, mutagenicity, and neuroactivity. Machine learning models were trained to predict these values. Due to their hydrophilicity, amino acids were determined to have the lowest potential of causing environmental toxicity.