Abstract:
Global climate governance has now entered a critical stage for implementing the “Dual Carbon” strategy. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is a key supporting technology for achieving carbon neutrality to net-negative emissions in industries such as power, chemical, and steel. Among these, coal-fired flue gas is characterized by large emission volumes and low CO
2 partial pressure. Amine-based chemical absorption is currently the most mature and effective capture method, achieving efficient capture through reversible reactions between organic amines and CO
2. However, excessively high energy consumption during CO
2 desorption restricts the large-scale application of this technology. Solid acid catalysts (SACs) can significantly increase CO
2 desorption rates and reduce regeneration temperatures by accelerating proton transfer and lowering the energy barrier for C—N bond cleavage, offering dual advantages of saving energy/reducing costs and enhancing efficiency. We systematically review the latest research advances in SAC-catalyzed CO
2 desorption from amine solutions across different catalyst types. Studies show that strategies including surface modification, sulfonation, and regulation of catalyst surface hydrophilicity and acid site density can significantly improve CO
2 desorption efficiency. We comprehensively analyze the physicochemical properties, catalyst structures, and characterization methods of catalytic materials. Building on this, we further reveal the synergistic mechanism between Lewis acid and Brønsted acid sites in SACs: Lewis acid adsorbs oxygen atoms to induce isomeric cleavage of C—N bonds, while Brønsted acid provides protons to promote carbamate protonation. This elucidates the reaction mechanism of SAC-catalyzed CO
2 desorption. Moreover, constructing alkaline active sites on catalysts effectively enhances CO
2 desorption efficiency and improves desorption performance. Finally, we analyze and compare the industrial application potential based on characteristics of different catalysts. Future research needs to focus on enhancing acid site stability, scaling up catalyst preparation, and coupling design with novel absorbents (e.g., phase-change amine absorbents) to promote low-cost implementation of CCUS technology.