Influence of activated carbon in zeolite X/activated carbon composites on CH<Subscript>4</Subscript>/N<Subscript>2</Subscript> adsorption separation ability

A series of zeolite X/activated carbon composites with different ratio of zeolite X and activated carbon were prepared, which were adjusted by adding solid pitch powder and silicon dioxide as additional carbonaceous and silica source, respectively. The corresponding modified samples were obtained by treatment with the ammonium chloride solution. CH₄ and N₂ adsorption isotherms on all composites were determined within the pressure of 0–100 kPa at 298 K, and fitted with Henry model and Freundlich model. The results showed the adsorption separation abilities for CH₄ and N₂ were strongly influenced by activated carbon content, micropore structure and surface properties. The increase of activated carbon content increased the BET surface area, micropore surface area and micropore volume, leading to an enhanced CH₄ adsorption capacity and CH₄/N₂ adsorption selectivity. Compared with the unmodified composites, the modified composites showed higher CH₄/N₂ adsorption selectivity, and CH₄ adsorption capacity decreased slightly, which can be attributed to the reduction of the micropore structure parameters, the surface basic amount and basic strength. Furthermore, the modified composite HAX-3 presented the highest CH₄/N₂ selectivity of 3.4, and high CH₄ adsorption capacities, which is favorable for application in pressure swing adsorption processes.     

Adsorption of CO2 on nitrogen-enriched activated carbon and zeolite 13X

Adsorption may be a potentially attractive alternative to capturing CO₂ from stationary sources in the context of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) technologies. Activated carbon and zeolites are state-of-art adsorbents which may be used for CO₂ adsorption, however physisorption alone tends to be insignificant at high temperatures. In the present work, commercial adsorbents have been impregnated with monoethanolamine (MEA) and triethanolamine (TEA) in order to investigate the effect of the modified surface chemistry on CO₂ adsorption, especially above room temperature. Adsorption isotherms for CO₂, N₂ and CH₄ were measured in a gravimetrically system in the pressure range of UHV to 10 bar, at 298 and 348 K for activated carbon and zeolite 13X supports. The adsorbed concentration of CO₂ was significantly higher than those of CH₄ and N₂ for both adsorbents in the whole pressure range studied, zeolite 13X showing a remarkable affinity for CO₂ at very low pressures. However, at 348 K, the adsorbed concentration of CO₂ decreases significantly. The supports impregnated with concentrated amine solutions and dried in air suffered a detrimental effect on the textural properties, although CO₂ uptake became much less susceptible to temperature increase. Impregnations carried out with dilute solution followed by drying in inert atmosphere yielded materials with very similar textural characteristics as compared to the parent support. CO₂ isotherms in such materials showed a significant change with similar capacities at 348 K as compared to the original support at 298 K in the case of activated carbons. The impregnated zeolite showed a decrease in adsorbed phase concentration in low pressures for a given temperature, but the adsorbed amount also seemed to be less affected by temperature. These results are promising and indicate that CO₂ adsorption may be enhanced despite high process temperatures (e.g. 348 K), if convenient impregnation and drying methods are applied.     

Adsorption separation of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen on monoethanol amine modified B-zeolite

A new type of composite adsorbents was synthesized by incorporating monoethanol amine (MEA) into β-zeolite. The parent and MEA-functionalized β-zeolites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The adsorption behavior of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrogen (N₂) on these adsorbents was investigated at 303 K. The results show that the structure of zeolite was well preserved after MEA modification. In comparison with CH₄ and N₂, CO₂ was preferentially adsorbed on the adsorbents investigated. The introduction of MEA significantly improved the selectivity of both CO₂/CH₄ and CO₂/N₂, the optimal selectivity of CO₂/CH₄ can reach 7.70 on 40 wt% of MEA-functionalized β-zeolite (MEA(40)-β) at 1 atm. It is worth noticing that a very high selectivity of CO₂/N₂ of 25.67 was obtained on MEA(40)-β. Steric effect and chemical adsorbate-adsorbent interaction were responsible for such high adsorption selectivity of CO₂. The present MEA-functionalized β-zeolite adsorbents may be a good candidate for applications in flue gas separation, as well as natural gas and landfill gas purifications.     

Adsorption of CO2 and N2 on synthesized NaY zeolite at high temperatures

NaY zeolite particles with a high surface area of 723 m²/g were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Adsorption isotherms of pure gases CO₂ and N₂ on the synthesized NaY particles were measured at temperatures 303, 323, 348, 373, 398, 423, 448 and 473 K and pressures up to 100 kPa. It was found that the adsorption isotherm of CO₂ on the synthesized zeolite is higher than that on other porous media reported in the literature. All measured adsorption isotherms of CO₂ and N₂ were fitted to adsorption models Sips, Toth, and UNILAN in the measured temperature/pressure range and Henry’s law adsorption equilibrium constants were obtained for all three adsorption models. The adsorption isotherms measured in this work suggest that the NaY zeolite may be capable of capturing CO₂ from flue gas at high temperatures. In addition, isosteric heats of adsorption were calculated from these adsorption isotherms. It was found that temperature has little effect on N₂ adsorption, while it presents marked decrease for CO₂ with an increase of adsorbate loading, which suggests heterogeneous interactions between CO₂ and the zeolite cavity.     

Adsorption isotherms of CO2, CO,N2, CH4, Ar and H2 on activated carbon and zeolite LiX up to 1.0 MPa

The adsorption isotherms of CO₂, CO, N₂, CH₄, Ar, and H₂ on activated carbon and zeolite LiX were measured using a volumetric method. Equilibrium experiments were conducted at 293, 308, and 323 K and pressures up to 1.0 MPa. The adsorption isotherm and heat of adsorption were analyzed for two pressure regions of experimental data: pressures up to 0.1 MPa and up to 1.0 MPa. Each experimental isotherm was correlated by the Langmuir, Sips, Toth and temperature dependent Sips isotherm models, and the deviation of each model was evaluated. The Sips and Toth models showed smaller deviation from the experimental data of adsorbents than the Langmuir model. Isosteric heats of adsorption were calculated by the temperature dependent Sips model and are presented along with surface loading. From deviation analysis, it is recommended that the isotherm in the proper pressure range be used to appropriately design adsorptive processes.     

Adsorption separation of carbon dioxide,methane, and nitrogen on Hβ and Na-exchanged β-zeolite

Adsorption isotherms of carbon dioxide （CO2）, methane （CH4）, and nitrogen （N2） on Hβand sodium exchanged β-zeolite （Naβ） were volumetrically measured at 273 and 303 K. The results show that all isotherms were of Brunauer type I and well correlated with Langmuir-Freundlich model. After sodium ions exchange, the adsorption amounts of three adsorbates increased, while the increase magnitude of CO2 adsorption capacity was much higher than that of CH4 and N2. The selectivities of CO2 over CH4 and CO2 over N2 enhanced after sodium exchange. Also, the initial heat of adsorption data implied a stronger interaction of CO2 molecules with Na＋ ions in Naβ . These results can be attributed to the larger electrostatic interaction of CO2 with extraframework cations in zeolites. However, Naβ showed a decrease in the selectivity of CH4 over N2, which can be ascribed to the moderate affinity of N2 with Naβ. The variation of isosteric heats of adsorption as a function of loading indicates that the adsorption of CO2 in Naβ presents an energetically heterogeneous profile. On the contrary, the adsorption of CH4 was found to be essentially homogeneous, which suggests the dispersion interaction between CH4 and lattice oxygen atoms, and such interaction does not depend on the exchangeable cations of zeolite.     

Adsorption of carbonyl sulfide on modified activated carbon under low-oxygen content conditions

Activated carbon sorbents impregnated with KOH, Fe(NO₃)₃, Cu(NO₃)₂, Zn(NO₃)₂ or Co(NO₃)₂ and their applications in catalytic oxidation reaction of COS were investigated. The results showed that the activated carbon modified with 10 % (mass percentage) KOH enhanced the adsorption ability significantly. And it was also found that the oxygen content and temperature were the two most important factors in the COS adsorption. Further investigation on the pore structures of the samples with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that an adsorption/oxidation process happened in the KOH modified activated carbon in which the major existing forms of sulfur were SO₄ ^2? and S species. The oxidation of COS suggested that KOH in the micropores may play a catalytic role during the adsorption. On the other hand, we found that the desorption activation energy from KOHW was higher than that from AC by the CO₂-TPD spectra, which indicated the adsorption of CO₂ on KOH impregnated activated carbon was stronger. The strong adsorption could be attributed to the basic groups on the activated carbon surface. In conclusion, the activated carbon impregnated with KOH promises a good candidate for COS adsorbent.     

Synthesis of nitrogen doped activated carbon/polyaniline material for CO2 adsorption

The equilibrium adsorption isotherms of carbon dioxide and nitrogen on the nitrogen doped activated carbon (NAC) prepared by the chemical activation of a pine cone‐based char/polyaniline composite were measured using a volumetric technique. CO₂ and N₂ adsorption experiments were done at three different temperatures (298, 308, and 318 K) and pressures up to 16 bar, and correlated with the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips models. The Sips isotherm model presented the best fit to the experimental data. The N‐doped adsorbent showed CO₂ and N₂ adsorption capacity of 3.96 mmol·g⁻¹ and 0.86 mmol·g⁻¹, respectively, at 298 K and 1 bar. The selectivity predicted by ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) model was achieved 47.17 for NAC at 1 bar and y_N2 = 0.85 which is a composition similar to flue gas. The results showed that NAC adsorbent has a high CO₂‐over‐N₂ selectivity in a binary mixture. The relatively fast sorption rate of CO₂ on NAC compared to N₂ indicates the stronger affinity between CO₂ and amine groups. The isosteric heat of adsorption of CO₂ by the NAC demonstrated the physico‐chemical adsorption of CO₂ on the adsorbent surface. These data showed that prepared NAC could be successfully applied in separation of CO₂ from N₂.     

Adsorption of carbon dioxide and nitrogen on zeolite rho prepared by hydrothermal synthesis using 18-crown-6 ether

Zeolite rho was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis using an 18-crown-6 ether (18C6) as a structure-directing agent, and the effects of the calcination temperature for removal of 18C6 on the physicochemical properties and CO₂-adsorption properties were investigated. CO₂ adsorption on zeolite rho calcined at 150 °C was lower than that on samples calcined at temperatures above 300 °C. For samples calcined above 300 °C, CO₂ adsorption increased with increasing calcination temperature up to 400 °C. It is thought that the pore volume for adsorption of CO₂ increased as a result of 18C6 removal, resulting in increasing CO₂ adsorption. A decrease in CO₂ adsorption for calcination from 400 °C to 500 °C was observed. The particle size of zeolite rho increased with increasing 18C6 molar ratio. Particle sizes of 1.0-2.1 μm and 1.4-2.6 μm were found by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light-scattering, respectively. The particle size is controlled in these regions by adjusting the 18C6 molar ratio. XRD showed that zeolite rho samples with 18C6 molar ratios of 0.25-1.5 had high crystallinity. The adsorbed amount of CO₂ is almost constant, at 3.4 mmol-CO₂ g⁻¹, regardless of the 18C6 molar ratio. However, CO₂ selectivity, which is the CO₂/N₂ adsorption ratio, decreased. The amount of CO₂ adsorbed on zeolite rho is lower than that on zeolite NaX, but higher than that on SAPO-34. The CO₂/N₂ adsorption ratio for zeolite rho was higher than those for SAPO-34 and zeolite NaX.     

Preparation of activated carbons and their adsorption properties for greenhouse gases: CH4 and CO2

Three kinds of activated carbons were prepared using coconut-shells as carbon precursors and characterized by XRD, FT-IR and texture property test. The results indicate that the prepared activated carbons were mainly amorphous and only a few impurity groups were adsorbed on their surfaces. The texture property test reveals that the activated carbons displayed different texture properties, especially the micropore size distribution. The adsorption capacities of the activated carbons were investigated by adsorbing CH4, CO2, N2 and O2 at 25 ?C in the pressure range of 0-200 kPa. The results reveal that all the activated carbons had high CO2 adsorption capacity, one of which had the highest CO2 adsorption value of 2.55 mmol/g at 200 kPa. And the highest adsorption capacity for CH4 of the activated carbons can reach 1.93 mmol/g at 200 kPa. In the pressure range of 0-200 kPa, the adsorption capacities for N2 and O2 were increased linearly with the change of pressure and K-AC is an excellent adsorbent towards the adsorption separation of greenhouse gases.     

Heat of Adsorption of Pure Sulfur Hexafluoride on Micro-Mesoporous Adsorbents

The isotherms and the isosteric heats of adsorption of pure SF₆ were measured on two microporous zeolites (NaX and Silicalite), one mesoporous alumina, and two activated carbons (BPL and PCB) at 305 K. The adsorption isotherms were Type I by Brunauer classification. The PCB carbon adsorbed SF₆ most strongly and the alumina adsorbed SF₆ most weakly. The adsorption of SF₆ on the other three materials were comparable in the low pressure region despite their drastic differences in the physicochemical properties. The heat of adsorption of SF₆ on the silicalite and the alumina remained practically constant over a large range of coverage. The heat of adsorption of SF₆ increased with increasing adsorbate loading on the NaX zeolite in the high coverage region. The heat of adsorption of SF₆ on the activated carbons decreased with increasing adsorbate loading before leveling off in the high coverage region.     

Zeolites modified by CuCl for separating CO from gas mixtures containing CO2

Although zeolites such as NaY and 13X adsorb CO₂ much more than CO, the adsorption amount of CO₂ and CO can be reversed if the zeolites are modified with CuCl. When zeolite NaY or 13X is mixed with CuCl and heated, high CO adsorption selectivity and capacity can be obtained. Isotherms show the adsorbents have CO capacity much higher than CO₂. This is because CuCl has dispersed onto the surface of the zeolites to form a monolayer after the heat treatment and the monolayer dispersed CuCl can provide tremendous Cu(I) to selective adsorb CO and inhibit the CO₂ adsorption. The monolayer dispersion of CuCl is confirmed by XRD and EXAFS studies. The loading of CuCl on the zeolites has a threshold below which the CuCl forms monolayer after heating and crystalline phase of CuCl can not be detected by XRD. An adsorbent of CuCl/NaY with CuCl content closed to the monolayer capacity shows very high CO selective adsorbability for CO₂, N₂, H₂ and CH₄. At temperature higher than room temperature, the adsorbent has even better CO selectivity for CO₂. Using the adsorbent, a single-stage 4 beds PSA process, working at 70°C and 0.4 MPa to 0.013 MPa, can obtain CO product with purity >99.5% and yield >85%.     

Calorimetric evaluation of activated carbons modified for phenol and 2,4-dinitrophenol adsorption

Two commercial activated carbons with differences in their superficial chemistry, one granular and the other pelletised, were modified for use in phenol and 2,4-dinitrophenol adsorption. In this paper, changes to the activated carbon surface will be evaluated from their immersion calorimetry in water and benzene, and they will then be compared with Area BET, chemical parameters, micropore size distributions and hydrophobicity factors of the modified activated carbons. The activated carbons were modified using 60 % solutions of phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄), nitric acid (HNO₃), zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) and potassium hydroxide (KOH); the activated carbon/solution ratio was 1:3 and impregnation was conducted 291 K for a period of 72 h before samples were washed until a constant pH was obtained. Water immersion calorimetry showed that the best results were obtained from activated carbons modified with nitric acid, which increased from ?10.6 to ?29.8 J g^?1 for modified granular activated carbon, and ?30.9 to ?129.3 J g^?1 for pelletised activated carbon. Additionally, they showed the best results in phenol and 2.4-dititrophenol adsorption. Those results indicate that impregnation with nitric acid under the employed conditions could generate a greater presence of oxygenated groups on their surface, which favours hydrogen bond formation and the increased adsorption of polar compounds. It should also be noted that immersion enthalpy in benzene for modified activated carbon with nitric acid is the method with the lowest value, which is consistent with the increased presence of polar groups on its surface. Regarding hydrophobicity factors, it was observed that granular carbons modified with nitric acid and potassium hydroxide have the lowest ratios, indicating greater interaction with water.     

Adsorption separation of CO2 and N2 on MIL-101 metal-organic framework and activated carbon

In this work, the CO₂ and N₂ adsorption properties of MIL-101 metal-organic framework (MOF) and activated carbon (AC) were investigated using a standard gravimetric method within the pressure range of 0–30 bar and at four different temperatures (298, 308, 318 and 328 K). The dual-site Langmuir–Freundlich (DSLF) model was used to describe the CO₂ adsorption behaviors on these two adsorbents. The diffusion coefficients and activation energy E _a for diffusion of CO₂ in the MIL-101 and AC samples were estimated separately. Results showed that the isosteric heat of CO₂ adsorption on the MIL-101 at zero loading was much higher than that on the AC due to a much stronger interaction between CO₂ molecule and the unsaturated metal sites Cr³⁺ on MIL-101. Meanwhile, the dramatically decreased isosteric heats of CO₂ adsorption on MIL-101 indicated a more heterogeneous surface of MIL-101. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetic behaviors of CO₂ on the two samples can be well described by the micropore diffusion model. With the increase of temperature, the diffusion coefficients of CO₂ in the two samples both increased. The activation energy E _a for diffusion of CO₂ in MIL-101 was slightly lower than that in AC, suggesting that MIL-101 was much favorable for the CO₂ adsorption. The CO₂/N₂ selectivities on MIL-101 and AC were separately estimated to be 13.7 and 9.2 using Henry law constant, which were much higher than those on other MOFs.     

Hydrothermal stability of pelletized zeolite 13X for energy storage applications

Three samples of pelletized zeolite Na-13X from different industrial suppliers were hydrothermally treated in an open system for up to 3500 adsorption/desorption cycles. Before and after this aging procedure, the samples have been characterized by water uptake measurements, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Hg-porosimetry, N₂- and CO₂-adsorption and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Large differences in the degree of degradation were found between the different materials: The adsorbent with the best performance maintains 79% of its original water uptake capacity after 3500 cycles, whereas this value is reduced to 65% after only 1600 cycles in case of the most unstable sample. For all materials, the residual water adsorption capacity was found to be higher than it was to expect from XRD data. In addition to structural changes of the zeolite cages, Hg-porosimetry and SAXS reveal a modification of the sample morphology in the meso- and macropore range. CO₂ adsorption experiments evidence that as a result of the aging process mass transfer kinetics are slowed down significantly. These findings indicate that the influence of hydrothermal treatment on the water adsorption performance not only depends on the crystal structure of the actual adsorbent, but is indeed a result of a complex interplay with the system of larger pores. The crucial role of the binder material is underlined by the fact that the most stable sample was produced by a so-called binder-free method.     

HY Zeolite Modified by Liquid Silane Deposition and Its Catalytic Activity in Selective tert-Butylation of Naphthalene

HY zeolites were modified by chemical liquid deposition with i-C₄H₉Si(OC₂H₅)₃, followed by hydrothermal treatment. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption and pulse mass analysis to investigate the influence on framework structure, specific surface area, pore diameter and adsorption behaviors. The catalytic performances of HY zeolite and the modified samples in the alkylation of naphthalene with tert-butyl alcohol were also evaluated. The results showed the modification of HY zeolite did not change framework structure but increased specific surface area, decreased average pore diameter, and reduced the size of pore opening. Catalytic activity of the modified HY zeolite catalyst for tert-butylation of naphthalene was decreased compared with that of HY zeolite catalyst while shape-selectivity of 2,6-di-tert-butylnaphthalene (2,6-DTBN) was increased obviously, the highest 2,6-DTBN/2,7-DTBN ratio of 6.62 obtained.     

Adsorption of carbon disulfide on activated carbon modified by Cu and cobalt sulfonated phthalocyanine

A series of adsorbents were studied for removal efficiency of carbon disulfide (CS₂) under micro-oxygen conditions. It was found that activated carbon modified by Cu and cobalt sulfonated phthalocyanine (CoSPc) denoted as ACCu–CoSPc showed significantly enhanced adsorption ability. Reaction temperature was found to be a key factor for adsorption, and 20 °C seems to be optimal for CS₂ removal. Samples were analyzed by N₂-BET, XRD, XPS, SEM–EDS and CO₂-TPD. The characterization results demonstrated that large quantities of SO₄ ^2? anions were formed and adsorbed in the reaction process. SO₂, CS₂ and COS were detected in the effluent gas generated from the temperature programmed desorption of ACCu–CoSPc–CS₂. Therefore, it can be concluded that ACCu–CoSPc most likely acted as a catalyst in the adsorption/oxidation process on the surface of the impregnated sample. The generated sulfide and sulfur oxide can cover the active sites of adsorbents, resulting in pronounced reduction of adsorbent activity. Finally, the exhausted ACCu–CoSPc can be regenerated by thermal desorption.     

Composite materials based on zeolite 4A for adsorption heat pumps

Some additives and binders were chosen for the preparation of 4A-zeolite-based composites with high equivalent thermal conductivity for heat pumps application. Additives (SiC, Si₃N₄, graphite) and binders (PTFE, Al(OH)₃) were tested for their effectiveness in terms of equivalent thermal conductivity and maximum water adsorption capacity of the composites. The influence of the equivalent thermal conductivity of the composite adsorbents on the specific power of the heat pump was also calculated. Results show a significant improvement in the equivalent thermal conductivity of the composite samples which are prepared using aluminum hydroxide as binder, over that of zeolite pellet beds. Such composite materials could be used to build adsorption heat pumps with higher specific power and, consequently, with lower investment cost.     

Calorimetric study of the CO2 adsorption on carbon materials

Given the great interest in the CO₂ removal and decreasing their impact on the environment, in this work, a calorimetric study of CO₂ adsorption on different activated carbons was performed. For this purpose, we used two methodologies for the determination heat of CO₂ adsorption: determination of CO₂ isotherms at different temperatures and adsorption calorimetry. The heats determined by these two techniques were compared. In this regard, carbonaceous materials of granular and monolithic types were prepared, characterized, and functionalized for carbon dioxide adsorption. As precursor material, African palm stones that were activated with H₃PO₄ and CaCl₂ at different concentrations was used. The obtained materials were functionalized in gas phase with NH₃ and liquid phase with NH₄OH, with the intention to incorporate the surface basic groups (amines or nitrogen groups) and subsequently were studied for CO₂ adsorption at 273 K and atmospheric pressure. For characterization of these materials, the following techniques are used: N₂ adsorption at 77 K and immersion calorimetry in different solvents. The experimental results show the obtaining of micropores and mesoporous (moderately) materials, with surface area between 430 and 1,425 m² g^?1 and pore volumes between 0.17 and 0.53 cm³ g^?1. It was determined that there is a difference between the heats of CO₂ adsorption obtained by the techniques employed. This deviation between the values corresponds to the methodological difference between the two experiments. In this work, we obtained a maximum adsorption capacity of CO₂, which is greater than 334 mg CO₂ g^?1 at 273 K and 1 bar in carbon materials with moderate surface area and pores volume.     

Preparation and characterization of waste ion-exchange resin-based activated carbon for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> capture

Waste ion-exchange resin was utilized as precursor to produce activated carbon by KOH chemical activation, on which the effects of different activation temperatures, activation times and impregnation ratios were studied in this paper. The CO₂ adsorption of the produced activated carbon was tested by TGA at 30 °C and environment pressure. Furthermore, the effects of preparation parameters on CO₂ adsorption were investigated. Experimental results show that the produced activated carbons are microporous carbons, which are suitable for CO₂ adsorption. The CO₂ adsorption capacity increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of activation temperature, activation time and impregnation rate. The maximum adsorption capacity is 81.24 mg/g under the condition of 30 °C and pure CO₂. The results also suggest that waste ion-exchange resin-based activated carbons possess great potential as adsorbents for post-combustion CO₂ capture.