The use of biobased polymeric materials as membrane technologies for CO2 capture and separation: a review

Bio-based polymers have recently emerged as a promising alternative to conventional materials for carbon dioxide (CO2) separation, offering a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. This review explores recent advancements in the design and application of bio-based polymeric membranes for CO2 capture, focusing on their structural properties, separation performance, and scalability. The unique characteristics of bio-based polymers, including tunable functional groups, high processability, and biocompatibility, make them highly suitable for selective CO2 separation in various industrial applications, provided that key challenges such as improving permeability-selectivity trade-off and enhancing chemical stability under harsh conditions, are properly addressed. Additionally, the integration of bio-based polymers with other advanced materials, including nanocomposites and hybrid membranes, is examined as a strategy to further enhance separation efficiency. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of bio-based polymers in membrane technologies for CO2 separation, highlighting both their potential and the technical challenges that need to be addressed for large-scale implementation.