CO2 adsorption with different adsorbent materials: a modeling and simulation study

Abstract

— Reducing CO₂ emissions is essential for mitigating the environmental impact of the continued widespread use of fossil fuels. Developing sustainable practices for CO₂ separation or sequestration has become increasingly important. Among these practices, the CO₂ adsorption technique is a promising and efficient alternative to amine absorption. Adsorption materials are at the forefront of CO₂ capture technologies, with carbon-based materials, zeolites, and metal-organic frameworks being among the most promising and widely studied adsorbents. In this paper, the performance of three different micro- and mesoporous solid adsorbents—(i) Zeolite 13X, (ii) Activated Carbon, and (iii) SBA-15—is analyzed using a mathematical model of a micro-scale packed bed column, which was validated with experimental data. The performance of each material is compared in terms of CO₂ uptake capacity and saturation time. The simulation results provide insights into the operational conditions that can enhance CO₂ capture efficiency, which could be tested in other experimental setups. Based on the kinetic Langmuir model, the predicted behavior of the adsorption process indicates that SBA-15 exhibits a higher CO₂ uptake capacity than Activated Carbon and Zeolite 13X under standard operational conditions (25 °C and 1 atm).