Title: Adsorption separation of CO2 from simulated flue gas mixtures by novel CO2 ''molecular basket'' adsorbents

Authors: Xiaochun Xu, Chunshan Song, John M. Andresen, Bruce G. Miller, Alan W. Scaroni

Addresses: Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Clean Fuels and Catalysis Program, The Energy Institute, Pennsylvania State University, 206 Hosler Building, University Park, PA 16802-5000, USA. ' Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Clean Fuels and Catalysis Program, The Energy Institute, Pennsylvania State University, 206 Hosler Building, University Park, PA 16802-5000, USA. ' Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Clean Fuels and Catalysis Program, The Energy Institute, Pennsylvania State University, 206 Hosler Building, University Park, PA 16802-5000, USA. ' Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Clean Fuels and Catalysis Program, The Energy Institute, Pennsylvania State University, 206 Hosler Building, University Park, PA 16802-5000, USA. ' Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Clean Fuels and Catalysis Program, The Energy Institute, Pennsylvania State University, 206 Hosler Building, University Park, PA 16802-5000, USA

Abstract: Adsorption separation of CO2 from simulated flue gas mixtures containing CO2, O2, and N2 by using a novel CO2 ||molecular basket|| adsorbent was investigated in a flow adsorption separation system. The novel CO2 ||molecular basket|| adsorbents were developed by synthesising mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41 and modifying it with polyethylenimine (PEI). The influence of operation conditions, including feed flow rate, temperature, feed CO2 concentration, and sweep gas flow rate, on the CO2 adsorption/desorption separation performance and CO2 breakthrough were examined. The CO2 adsorption capacity was 91.0 ml (STP)/g-PEI, which was 27 times higher than that of the MCM-41 alone. Further, the adsorbent showed separation selectivity of greater than 1000 for CO2/N2 ratio and approximately 180 for CO2/O2, which are significantly higher than those of the MCM-41, zeolites, and activated carbons. Cyclic adsorption/desorption measurements showed that the CO2 ||molecular basket|| adsorbent was stable at 75°C. However, the CO2 ||molecular basket|| adsorbent was not stable when the operation temperature was higher than 100°C.

Keywords: adsorption; carbon dioxide; flue gas; MCM-41; mesoporous molecular sieve; polyethylenimine; separation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2004.004630

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2004 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.32 - 52

Published online: 26 May 2004 *

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