Abstract
Solid adsorbents with precise surface structural chemistry and porosity are of immense interest to decode the structure-property relationships and maintain an energy-intensive path while achieving high activity and durability. In this work, we reported a series of amine-modified zeolites and their CO2 capture efficiencies. The amine impregnated molecular zeolite compounds were characterized and systematically investigated for CO2 adsorption capacity through thermogravimetric analysis for the occurrence of atmospheric pure CO2 gas at 75 °C with diethylenetriamine (DETA), ethylenediamine (EDA), monoethanolamine (MEA), and triethanolamine (TEA)-loaded zeolite 13X, 4A, and 5A adsorbents. The kinetics of the adsorption study indicated that the adsorption capacity for CO2 adsorption was improved with amine loading up to a certain concentration over 13X-DETA-40, showing an adsorption capacity of 1.054 mmol of CO2 per gram of zeolite in a very short amount of time. The result was especially promising in terms of the initial adsorption capacity of zeolite, which adsorbed approximately 0.8 mmol/g zeolite within the first two minutes of experimentation. A detailed flow chart that includes a brief look into the process adopted for adsorption was included. Lagergren pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order models of 40 wt % DETA zeolite 13X gave CO2 adsorption capacities of 1.055 and 1.058 mmol/g and also activation energies of 86 and 76 kJ/mol, respectively. The CO2 adsorption capacity of 13X-DETA-40 in a lab-scale reactor was found to be 1.69 mmol/g. A technoeconomic study was conducted for the solid amine zeolites to understand the investment per ton of CO2 adsorbed. This study was used as a basis to improve cost estimates from a microscale to a lab-scale reactor. The cost of investment for 13X-DETA-40 was reduced by 84% from $49,830/ton CO2 adsorbed in a microscale reactor to $7,690/ton of CO2 adsorbed in a lab-scale reactor.