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Onboard carbon capture systems are among the most promising strategies for decarbonization of the maritime sector in the short and medium term. These systems are based on post-combustion technologies, such as absorption, adsorption, calcium looping, membrane separation, and cryogenic technologies. They can be installed on existing ships without conflicting with other available carbon mitigation measures. Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA) is one of the most proficient solutions; however, for effective use in the maritime sector, it is crucial to investigate adsorbent materials that are suitable for the specific conditions of flue gas deriving from ship engines. To this aim, attention should be focused on those materials that have i) high CO2adsorption capacities per unit of volume due to the expected space limitations on board ships, ii) good performances at relatively high temperatures in the presence of water and other chemical species (such as sulphur and nitrogen oxides and particulate matter), iii) easy regeneration patterns and iv) ideally highest possible efficiencies.

•We simulate a steam reforming plant and perform a sensitivity analysis of the process.•We report actual data from a large scale SR plant and validate the model.•We design and simulate the RVPSA unit for carbon capture.•We evaluate the energetic assessment with and without carbon capture.

•K2CO3supported onto alumina was used for CO2capture from model marine flue-gas.•The sorbent carbonation degree monotonically decreases with the K2CO3content.•The supported K2CO3can be completely regenerated with steam at 120 °C.•A temperature swing carbonation/regeneration unit was scaled-up for ship retrofit.•A 30% CO2emission cut can be attained for the analyzed ship case study.