Superstructure-based carbon capture and utilization process design

The carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology is an effective approach to reducing CO₂ emissions. Given the extensive range of existing technologies within the CCU framework, systematic methods for the optimal selection of economical and sustainable CCU pathways are crucial. To address this challenge, superstructure-based process design has emerged as a popular approach. Over the past several years, numerous contributions have been made in this area. This article provides an overview of surrogate models widely used in process synthesis and introduces mathematical methods for superstructure-based CCU process design. Recent advances in superstructure-based CCU process design are discussed across six selected application areas, including multistage separations for CO₂ capture, CO₂ thermochemical conversion, CO₂ electrochemical conversion, bioenergy with CCU, CO₂ transport network design, and energy systems design in CCU.