Experimental and numerical study on the energy-efficient CO2 capture from flue gas by temperature swing adsorption: a comparative analysis of zeolite 13X and other adsorbent materials

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions to the atmosphere are one of the most concerning climate issues in the modern era. This prompts scientists to look forward to carbon capture devices. Temperature swing adsorption (TSA), in particular, is a critical and successful technique for reducing CO2 emissions and achieving carbon neutrality in CO2 adsorption technology. In this work, the effectiveness of TSA for CO2 capture on adsorbent zeolite 13X in a post-combustion setting is evaluated. The breakthrough curves from the adsorption processes were measured using a numerical model that was created. In this assessment, four common adsorbent materials like, Mg-MOF-74, zeolite 13X, activated carbon, and Zeolite-NaUSY, have been selected for comparative analysis. The developed model is verified using experimental data from the literature and is found to fit well, with a maximum probable error of ±11.24 %. Further, this numerical model has also been validated against the TSA models for signifying the accuracy of the proposed model. Analysis is done for the adsorber bed’s design and performance parameters, including CO2 purity, CO2 recovery, CO2 concentration ratio and adsorption efficiency of CO2, across an inlet temperature range of 303–393 K, where 393 K represents an upper sensitivity limit relevant to regeneration conditions rather than optimal adsorption operation. The results demonstrate that temperature significantly influences TSA cycle behavior, capturing the transition from adsorption-dominant to desorption-dominant regimes, with a 17.37 % variation in concentration ratio across the studied temperature range. Additionally, Mg-MOF-74, activated carbon, zeolite-NaUSY, and zeolite 13X were evaluated as sorbent materials for assessing comparative adsorption performance. The proposed numerical model provides a reliable predictive tool for analyzing TSA performance under varying thermal and material conditions.

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