Reduction of Iron Oxides for CO[sub.2] Capture Materials

The iron industry is the largest energy-consuming manufacturing sector in the world, emitting 4–5% of the total carbon dioxide (CO[sub.2]). The development of iron-based systems for CO[sub.2] capture and storage could effectively contribute to reducing CO[sub.2] emissions. A wide set of different iron oxides, such as hematite (Fe[sub.2]O[sub.3]), magnetite (Fe[sub.3]O[sub.4]), and wüstite (Fe[sub.(1−y)]O) could in fact be employed for CO[sub.2] capture at room temperature and pressure upon an investigation of their capturing properties. In order to achieve the most functional iron oxide form for CO[sub.2] capture, starting from Fe[sub.2]O[sub.3], a reducing agent such as hydrogen (H[sub.2]) or carbon monoxide (CO) can be employed. In this review, we present the state-of-the-art and recent advances on the different iron oxide materials employed, as well as on their reduction reactions with H[sub.2] and CO.