Carbon-Negative and Carbon-Neutral Technologies

Steven S. C. Chuang, Professor of Polymer Science at the University of Akron, USA, obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Pittsburgh in 1985, began his career at Akron in 1986, served as Chair of Chemical Eng. Department in 1997 - 2005, and moved to Polymer Science Department at 2011. He established FirstEnergy Advanced Energy Research Center, funded by FirstEnergy Corp., for the development of carbon capture and carbon-based fuel cell technology in 2009. His research spans a wide range of areas: vibrational spectroscopy, synthetic fuels, environmental benign synthesis, heterogeneous catalysis/photocatalysis, dye-sensitized solar cell, battery, CO2 capture and plasmas-assisted valorization of mixed plastic wastes. He received Outstanding Researcher Award of the University of Akron and Chemstress Outstanding Teacher Award of the College of Engineering and Polymer at Akron.

• 1. Introduction1.1 Overview of Energy and Chemical Conversion Processes and System1.2 Basic Mechanism of Greenhouse Gas Effects1.3 Carbon Footprint and Carbon Cycle of Conversion Processes1.4 Life Cycle Analysis2. Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Chemical and Energy Conversion2.1 Changes in Gibbs Free Energy and Enthalpy of Conversion Processes2.2 Kinetics of Conversion Processes2.2.1 Chemical Potential, Electric Potential, and Electrochemical Potential 2.2.2 The Arrhenius Equation, The Eyring Equation, and The Butler-Volmer Equation 2.3 Approaches for Determining Kinetics of Conversion Processes2.2.1 Steady and Transient Kinetic Measurement for CO2 Capture, Chemical Reaction, And Electrochemical Reactions2.2.2 Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy3. Mass and Energy Transport in Chemical and Energy Conversion3.1 Diffusion and Mass Transfer3.2 Energy Transfer 3.3 Concentration, Temperature, and Voltage Profiles4. Carbon-Negative Technology4.1 Basic Principles of Carbon-Negative Emission Technology4.2 Carbon Capture 4.3 Air Capture with Renewable Energy4.4 Carbon Dioxide Utilization 4.5 Carbon Sequestration4.5.1 Carbon Sequestration Pathways4.5.2 Chemistry of Mineralization4.5.3 Biological Sequestration4.5.4 Alternative Approaches 5. Carbon-Neutral Technology5.1 Basic Principles of Carbon-Neutral Technology5.1.1 Electrochemical Processes 5.1.2 Use of Battery and Fuel Cell in Electric Vehicles5.2 Hydrogen Fuels5.2.1 Hydrogen Sources 5.1.2 Hydrogen Generation 5.1.2.1 Catalytic and Photocatalytic Pathways 5.1.2.2 Electrocatalysis5.1.2.3 Photo-Electrocatalysis5.1.2.4 Plasma-Assisted Pathways 5.3 Fuel Cell5.3.1 Sources of Fuels5.3.2 Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell5.3.2 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell5.4 Battery5.4.1 Li Battery5.4.2 Mg and Na Battery5.5 Solar Cell and Photo-Electrochemical Devices6. Conclusion6.1 Comparison of Various Clean and Renewable Energy Technologies 6.2 Common Issues at Each Length Scale in The Development of Carbon-Negative/Neutral Technologies