Naturally Nitrogen and Calcium-Doped Nanoporous Carbon from Pine Cone with Superior CO2 Capture Capacities

A highly effective nanoporous CO 2 sorbent with naturally doped nitrogen and calcium elements, derived from pine-cone biomass, shows superior CO 2 capture performance. The sorbent was produced from carbonization and KOH activation of dried pine cones, and possess a highly nanoporous structure with a specific surface area and a pore volume up to 2110 m 2 /g and 0.89 cm 3 /g, respectively. The highest CO 2 uptake of 20.9 wt % (under 1 bar CO 2 and 25 °C) was achieved in a porous structure with relatively high levels of nitrogen and calcium dopants inherited from the biomass precursor. Further porosity and elemental analyses show that CO 2 sorption is enhanced by both highly developed ultramicroporous structure (<0.7 nm) and well-dispersed nitrogen and metal dopants in carbon sorbents.