Adsorption performance of 5A molecular sieve zeolite in water vapor–binary gas environment: Experimental and modeling evaluation

Microstructure and Efflorescence Resistance of Metakaolin Geopolymer Modified by 5A Zeolite

In order to reduce the degree of efflorescence in alkali-activated metakaolin geopolymers, a modified 5A zeolite with cation-exchange properties was used to reduce the content of free alkali metal cations in the geopolymer. This work aims to investigate the effect of different dosages of modified 5A zeolite on the microstructure and properties of geopolymer by using compressive strength testing, pore structure analysis (BET), and SEM-EDS. The cation content in the leachate was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The efflorescence area of the geopolymer was calculated using Image Pro Plus (IPP) software to evaluate the effect of modified 5A zeolite on the degree of efflorescence of the geopolymer and to reveal the effect of modified 5A zeolite on the migration patterns of Na+ and Ca2+ in the geopolymer. The results showed that modified 5A zeolite with a 4 wt.% content could optimize the pore structure and enhance the mechanical properties of MK geopolymer through internal curing and micro-aggregate effects, which could also exchange cations with the pore solution to form (N, C)-A-S-H gels. The Na+ leaching was reduced by 19.4%, and the efflorescence area of the MK geopolymer was reduced by 57.3%.

Carbon dioxide separation and capture by adsorption: a review

Rising adverse impact of climate change caused by anthropogenic activities is calling for advanced methods to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Here, we review adsorption technologies for carbon dioxide capture with focus on materials, techniques, and processes, additive manufacturing, direct air capture, machine learning, life cycle assessment, commercialization and scale-up.

Water Removal from an Ethanol-Water Mixture at Azeotropic Condition by Adsorption Technique

The separation of ethanol-water mixture is employed in the present work to produce pure ethanol, the present investigation on the separation of water from the ethanol to achieve pure ethanol by adsorption process. The different parameters like quantity of adsorbent, flow rate of feed mixture, and different adsorbents which are zeolite 3A, zeolite 4A, and silica gel are selected to study purification of ethanol by adsorption. The effect of process parameter for purification is also recorded and studied to evaluate the performance of adsorption equipment and adsorbent. The experiments are conducted at 30°C. The feed mixture is 95.6% (v/v) concentration of ethanol and 4.4% (v/v) of water. The designed adsorption column is suitable for purification of ethanol. The highest ethanol concentration 99.9443% obtained at 20 ml/min flow rate of feed mixture using 50 g of zeolite.

Capturing water vapors from atmospheric air using superporous gels

Dehumidification performance of most polymer desiccant materials is unsatisfactory because of the complex adsorption mechanism on polymer surface and non-porous structure. A viable alternative of solid desiccants, especially existing polymer desiccants, for capturing water vapors from moist air is the super-porous gels (SPGs). The presence of interconnected channels of pores in its structure facilitates the transfer of water molecules to the internal structure of SPGs. Therefore, in this research work, we are proposing N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and acrylamide (AM) based thermoresponsive SPGs as a potential alternative to the existing conventional solid desiccants. To ensure the formation of interconnected capillary channels, the SPGs were synthesized via gas blowing and foaming technique. Surface morphology of the SPGs was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the other physio-chemical characteristics were studied using different techniques like fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Water vapors adsorption properties of the SPGs were explored via adsorption isotherm and kinetics. The adsorption isotherm was found to be of type-III isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.75 g_w/g_ads at 25 °C and 90% relative humidity. Experimental isotherm data correlated well with BET, FHH and GAB isotherm models. Adsorption kinetics suggested that the water vapors diffusion followed intraparticle diffusion and liquid field driving mechanisms collectively. SPGs exhibited very good regeneration and reusability for ten continuous adsorption/desorption cycles. Therefore, the dehumidification efficiency of synthesized SPGs shows that they have potential to replace most of the conventional solid desiccant materials in use.

Investigating the properties and performance of 3A molecular sieves as an adsorbent to prevent coke formation in olefin dehydration process

To study the affinity of 3A aluminosilicate adsorbents to prevent oligomerization of olefin molecules and forming green oil, physical and chemical properties of 3A molecular sieves are measured by using characterization techniques such as temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), nitrogen (N2) and water adsorptions, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), crushing strength, and carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption. Moreover, coke formation affinities of the understudy adsorbents are evaluated in a bench-scale system using 1-butene and 1,3-butadiene at temperatures of 220 and 260 °C, and outcomes are validated against the actual data gathered from an industrial scale olefin dehydration plant. Results confirm that the type of binder and the amount of ion exchange affect the performance of a 3A molecular sieve nominated for dehydrating olefinic streams. The binder with the least amount of acidity is preferred, and at least 35% of Na ions of the 4A zeolite should be exchanged with K ions to make it applicable for synthesizing an appropriate 3A molecular sieve. Furthermore, to control the oligomerization and inhibit green oil formation, the CO2 adsorption and acidity of Trisiv shape molecular sieves with the sizes of 1/4 inch should be less than 0.5 wt % and 1.7 mmol NH3/g, respectively. For extrudate shape with the sizes of 1/16 inch CO2 adsorption and acidity should be less than 0.2 wt % and 2.2 mmol NH3/g, respectively.

Experimental investigation, binary modelling and artificial neural network prediction of surfactant adsorption for enhanced oil recovery application

Throughout the application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), surfactant adsorption is considered the leading constraint on both the successful implementation and economic viability of the process. In this study, a comprehensive investigation on the adsorption behaviour of nonionic and anionic individual surfactants; namely, alkyl polyglucoside (APG) and alkyl ether carboxylate (AEC) was performed using static adsorption experiments, isotherm modelling using (Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, and Temkin models), adsorption simulation using a state-of-the-art method, binary mixture prediction using the modified extended Langmuir (MEL) model, and artificial neural network (ANN) prediction. Static adsorption experiments revealed higher adsorption capacity of APG as compared to AEC, with sips being the most fitted model with R² (0.9915 and 0.9926, for APG and AEC respectively). It was indicated that both monolayer and multilayer adsorption took place in a heterogeneous adsorption system with non-uniform surfactant molecules distribution, which was in remarkable agreement with the simulation results. The (APG/AEC) binary mixture prediction depicted contradictory results to the experimental individual behaviour, showing that AEC had more affinity to adsorb in competition with APG for the adsorption sites on the rock surface. The adopted ANN model showed good agreement with the experimental data and the simulated adsorption values for APG and AEC showed a decreasing trend as temperature increases. Simulating the impact of binary surfactant adsorption can provide a tremendous advantage of demonstrating the binary system behaviour with less experimental data. The utilization of ANN for such prediction procedure can minimize the experimental time, operating cost and give feasible predictions compared to other computational methods. The integrated workflow followed in this study is quite innovative as it has not been employed before for surfactant adsorption studies.

Measurements and calculations of the equilibrium adsorption amounts of CO2–N2, CO–N2, and CO2–CO mixed gases on 13X zeolite

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is one practical process for CO2 separation from the exhaust gases in various industries, such as blast furnace gas in steel works. For optimum design of the PSA process, precise estimation of the adsorption equilibrium of mixed gases is desired. The ideal adsorbed solution (IAS) model is a reliable model for this estimation. However, the IAS model requires convergent calculations, which significantly increase the calculation load, especially in dynamic PSA simulations. An analytical formula such as the extended Langmuir (EX-LM) equation is more useful for calculation of the equilibrium adsorption amounts of mixed gases. A drawback of this equation, however, is the uncertainty of the thermodynamic consistency and consequently the accuracy of the calculation results. In order to clarify the necessary conditions for application of the EX-LM equation as an approximation of the IAS model with Langmuir equation (IAS-LM model), both the analytical features and the estimation accuracy of these different methods were evaluated. To evaluate the accuracy of the equations, the equilibrium adsorption amount of mixed gases consisting of CO2, N2, and CO, which are the major gas components of blast furnace gas in steel works, on 13X zeolite were measured experimentally. The results confirmed that the accuracy of the EX-LM equation varies depending on the gas pressure and also the affinities of the adsorbates. Under higher gas pressure conditions, more reliable calculation results were obtained by the IAS-LM model.

Study on the Compatibility of Gas Adsorbents Used in a New Insulating Gas Mixture C4F7N/CO2

An environment-friendly insulating gas, perfluoroisobutyronitrile (C4F7N), has been developed recent years. Due to its relatively high liquefaction temperature (around −4.7 °C), buffer gases, such as CO2 and N2, are usually mixed with C4F7N to increase the pressure of the filled insulating medium. During these processes, the insulating gases may be contaminated with micro-water, and the mixture of H2O with C4F7N could produce HF under breakdown voltage condition, which is harmful to the gas insulated electricity transfer equipment. Therefore, removal of H2O and HF in situ from the gas insulated electricity transfer equipment is significant to its operation security. The adsorbents with the ability to remove H2O but without obvious C4F7N/CO2 adsorption capacity are essential to be used in this system. In this work, a series of industrial adsorbents and desiccants were tested for their compatibility with C4F7N/CO2. Pulse adsorption tests were conducted to evaluate the adsorption performance of these adsorbents and desiccants on C4F7N and CO2. The 5A molecular sieve showed high adsorption of C4F7N (22.82 mL/g) and CO2 (43.86 mL/g); F-03 did not show adsorption capacity with C4F7N, however, it adsorbed CO2 (26.2 mL/g) clearly. Some other HF adsorbents, including NaF, CaF2, MgF2, Al(OH)3, and some desiccants including CaCl2, Na2SO4, MgSO4 were tested for their compatibility with C4F7N and CO2, and they showed negligible adsorption capacity on C4F7N and CO2. The results suggested that these adsorbents used in the gas insulated electricity transfer equipment filled with SF6 (mainly 5A and F-03 molecular sieves) are not suitable anymore. The results of this work suggest that it is a good strategy to use a mixture of desiccants and HF adsorbents as new adsorbents in the equipment filled with C4F7N/CO2.