Nitriding an Oxygen-Doped Nanocarbonaceous Sorbent Synthesized via Solution Plasma Process for Improving CO2 Adsorption Capacity.

The synthesis of carbon nanoparticles (Cn) and oxygen-doped nanocarbon (OCn) was successfully done through a one-step synthesis by the solution plasma process (SPP). The Cn and OCn were nitrogen-doped by nitridation under an ammonia atmosphere at 800 °C for 2 h to yield NCn and NOCn, respectively, for carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption. The NOCn exhibited the highest specific surface area (~570 m2 g-1) and highest CO2 adsorption capacity (1.63 mmol g-1 at 25 °C) among the synthesized samples. The primary nitrogen species on the surface of NOCn were pyridinic-N and pyrrolic-N. The synergistic effect of microporosity and nitrogen functionality on the NOCn surface played an essential role in CO2 adsorption enhancement. From the thermodynamic viewpoint, the CO2 adsorption on NOCn was physisorption, exothermic, and spontaneous. The NOCn showed a more negative enthalpy of adsorption, indicating its stronger interaction for CO2 on the surface, and hence, the higher adsorption capacity. The CO2 adsorption on NOCn over the whole pressure range at 25-55 °C best fitted the Toth model, suggesting monolayer adsorption on the heterogeneous surface. In addition, NOCn expressed a higher selective CO2 adsorption than Cn and so was a good candidate for multicycle adsorption.

Optimization of CO2 adsorption capacity and cyclical adsorption/desorption on tetraethylenepentamine-supported surface-modified hydrotalcite.

The objective of this research was to investigate CO2 adsorption capacity of tetraethylenepentamine-functionalized basic-modified calcined hydrotalcite (TEPA/b-cHT) sorbents at atmospheric pressure formed under varying TEPA loading levels, temperatures, sorbent weight to total gaseous flow rate (W/F) ratios and CO2 concentrations in the influent gas. The TEPA/b-cHT sorbents were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analysis of nitrogen (N2) adsorption/desorption and carbon-hydrogen-nitrogen (CHN) elemental analysis. Moreover, a full 24 factorial design with three central points at a 95% confidence interval was used to screen important factor(s) on the CO2 adsorption capacity. It revealed that 85.0% variation in the capacity came from the influence of four main factors and the 15.0% one was from their interactions. A face-centered central composite design response surface method (FCCCD-RSM) was then employed to optimize the condition, the maximal capacity of 5.5-6.1mmol/g was achieved when operating with a TEPA loading level of 39%-49% (W/W), temperature of 76-90°C, W/F ratio of 1.7-2.60(g·sec)/cm3 and CO2 concentration of 27%-41% (V/V). The model fitted sufficiently the experimental data with an error range of ±1.5%. From cyclical adsorption/desorption and selectivity at the optimal condition, the 40%TEPA/b-cHT still expressed its effective performance after eight cycles.

CO2 capture performance of bi-functional activated bleaching earth modified with basic-alcoholic solution and functionalization with monoethanolamine: isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics.

CO2 capture performance of bifunctional activated bleaching earth (ABE) was investigated at atmospheric pressure. The sorbents were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Caron-Hydrogen-Nitrogen analysis (CHN), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The CO2 capacity was enhanced via basic-modification and monoethanolamine (MEA) loading of the ABE sorbent to obtain a bifunctional surface property. Here, basic-modified calcined ABE with a 30wt.% MEA loading (SAB-30) showed the highest CO2 capture capacity, but this was decreased with excess MEA loading (>30wt.%). At a 10% (V/V) initial CO2 concentration feed, the maximum capacity of SAB-30 increased from 2.71mmol/g at 30°C (without adding moisture to the feed) to 3.3mmol/g at 50°C when adding 10% (V/V) moisture to the feed. Increasing the moisture concentration further reduced the maximum CO2 capacity due to the blocking effect of the excess moisture on the sorbent surface. However, SAB-30 could completely capture CO2 even in a 100% (V/V) initial CO2 concentration feed. A maximum CO2 capacity of 5.7mmol/g for SAB-30 was achieved at 30°C. Varying the ratio of sorbent weight to total flow rate of the gas stream had no discernible effect on the equilibrium CO2 capture capacity. Avrami's equation and Toth's isotherm model provided a good fitting for the data and suggested the presence of more than one reaction pathway in the CO2 capture process and the heterogeneous adsorption surface of SAB-30. Thermodynamics studies revealed that CO2 capture on the bifunctional SAB-30 is feasible, spontaneous and exothermic in nature.

Adsorption of emulsified oil from metalworking fluid on activated bleaching earth-chitosan-SDS composites: Optimization, kinetics, isotherms.

The adsorption of emulsified oil from metalworking fluid (MWF) on activated bleaching earth (BE)-chitosan-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) composites (BE/MCS) was investigated under a statistical design of experiments at a 95% confidence interval to identify the critical factors and to optimize the adsorption capacity. The BE/MCS adsorbents were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller adsorption/desorption isotherms, contact angle analysis (sessile drop technique) and their zeta potential. From the results of a full 2(5) factorial design with three center points, the adsorbent weight and initial pH of the MWF had a significant antagonistic effect on the adsorption capacity while the initial MWF concentration and BE:chitosan:SDS weight ratio had a synergistic influence. Temperature factor has no discernible effect on the capacity. From the FCCC-RSM design, the optimal capacity range of 2840-2922.5 mg g(-1) was achieved at sorbent weight of 1.6-1.9 g, pH of 5.5-6.5, initial MWF concentration of 52-55 g l(-1) and BE:chitosan:SDS (w/w/w) ratio of 4.7:1:1-6.2:1:1. To test the validation and sensitivity of RSM model, the results showed that the estimated adsorption capacity was close to the experimental capacity within an error range of ±3%, suggesting that the RSM model was acceptable and satisfied. From three kinetics models (pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order model and Avrami's equation) and two adsorption isotherms (Langmuir model and Freundlich model), assessed using an error function (Err) and the coefficient of determination (R(2)), Avrami's equation and Freundlich isotherm model provided a good fitting for the data, suggesting the presence of more than one reaction pathway in the MWF adsorption process and the heterogeneous surface adsorption of the BC/ABE-5.5 composite.

CO2 adsorption on diatomaceous earth modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and functionalized with tetraethylenepentamine: Optimization and kinetics.

The carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorbent diatomaceous earth (DE) was modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and functionalized with varying levels of tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA). The CO2 absorption at atmospheric pressure was optimized by varying the TEPA-loading level (0-40% (w/w)), operating temperature (40-80 °C) and water vapor concentration (0-16% (v/v)) in a 10% (v/v) CO2 feed stream in helium balance using a full 2(3) factorial design. The TEPA/CTAB-DE adsorbents were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and thermogravimetric analyses. The CO2 adsorption capacity increased as each of these three factors increased. The TEPA loading level-water concentration interaction had a positive influence on the CO2 adsorption while the operating temperature-water concentration interaction was antagonistic. The optimal condition for CO2 adsorption on 40%TEPA/CTAB-DE, evaluated via a factorial design response surface method (RSM), was a temperature of 58-68 °C and a water vapor concentration of 9.5-14% (v/v), with a maximum CO2 adsorption capacity of 149.4 mg g(-1) at 63.5 °C and 12% (v/v) water vapor concentration in the feed. Validation and sensitivity tests revealed that the estimated CO2 adsorption capacity was within ±4% of the experimental values, suggesting that the RSM model was satisfied and acceptable. From three kinetic models (pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order model and Avrami's equation), assessed using an error function (Err) and the coefficient of determination (R(2)), Avrami's equation was the most appropriate to describe the kinetics of CO2 adsorption on the 40%TEPA/CTAB-DE adsorbent and suggested that more than one reaction pathway occurred in the CO2 adsorption.