Rich Ether-Based Protic Ionic Liquids with Low Viscosity for Selective Absorption of SO2 through Multisite Interaction

Adsorption characteristics of SO2 onto novel activated carbon fixed bed: kinetics, isotherms, thermodynamics and washing regeneration

The problem of SO2 pollution in industrial flue gas has brought great pressure to environmental governance. In this study, a new type of activated carbon fixed bed device was designed and built for flue gas desulfurization. The results showed that activated carbons (AC1-AC5) were microporous activated carbons with abundant functional groups on the surface, and the desulfurization performance was ranked as AC1 > AC2 > AC3 > AC4 > AC5. The specific surface area of AC1 was as high as 624.98 m2/g, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 29.03 mg·g-1 under the optimum reaction conditions. The Freundlich adsorption isotherm model and Bangham pore diffusion model are more suitable for describing the dynamic adsorption process of SO2 on AC1. Combined with thermodynamic research, it is shown that the adsorption process of SO2 is a spontaneous, exothermic, and chaotic reduction process, which is mainly a physical adsorption between single-layer adsorption and multi-layer adsorption. Finally, the desulfurization-washing regeneration cycle experiment results showed that the regeneration rate of AC1 increases with the washing time and washing temperature, up to 95%, which provides data reference for industrial application.

Tuning the structure of N-methyldiethanolamine-based deep eutectic solvents for efficient and reversible SO2 capture

Three cheap DESs comprising of N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and imidazole (Im), 1,2,4-triazole, and tetrazole were investigated for capturing SO2 at low concentrations. Surprisingly, with the addition of Im, the SO2 absorption capacity and desorption efficiency were improved. Spectroscopic analysis and quantum chemical calculations confirmed that MDEA-Im effectively and reversibly captured SO2 through the hydrogen bond network and synergistic action between MDEA and Im.

Aminoalkyl organosilicon with dual chemical sites for SO2 absorption and analysis of site-specific absorption entropy and enthalpy

Wet flue gas desulfurization is widely used for its high efficiency, however, the low absorption capacity, high viscosity and poor thermal stability of absorbents remains an open question. Herein, a low viscosity and high thermal stability SO2 absorbent with dual interacting sites was synthesized by introducing phenyl into organic silicon. The thermal stability of 1,5-bis (diethylamino)- 1,1,5,5-tetramethyl-3,3-diphenyltrisiloxane (BADPS) is comparable to ILs, while its viscosity is much lower than that of ILs. For the first time, we use a variant of the pseudo-first-order reaction rate equation obtained the reaction rate constant and the saturation absorption capacity. In addition, the optimal absorption and desorption temperatures were obtained based on an objective function. Mostly importantly, the absorption enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS) of BADPS absorption reaction show the highest absolute values of SO2 absorbents reported so far. These results indicated that the prepared amine alkyl organosilicon could serve as a promising desulfurizing agent with low-energy consumption.

Reversible sulfur dioxide capture by amino acids containing a single amino group at low sulfur dioxide concentrations

SO₂, an air pollutant, is harmful to human health and causes air pollution; therefore, numerous studies have focused on the development of SO₂ control technologies. Although limestone- and ammonia-based absorbents have been widely used in wet desulfurization, they are difficult to regenerate and do not enable the recycling of SO₂, which is a useful resource. Recently, amino acids have attracted attention as reversible SO₂ absorbents because they are eco-friendly and have excellent reactivity with SO₂, as well as high regeneration performance. Glycine, L-alanine, β-alanine, 4-aminobutyric acid, 5-aminovaleric acid, and 6-aminohexanoic acid were analyzed to investigate the relationship between SO₂ absorption and the amino acid molecular structure using the simulated actual flue gas (200 ppmv SO₂ + 13% CO₂ in N₂ balance). The SO₂ absorption of amino acids (with the molecular structure of glycine and alkyl chains of various lengths) improved as the alkyl chain length increased, possibly owing to a decrease in the inductive effect in the molecular structure of the amino acid. Furthermore, ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was conducted to analyze the SO₂ absorption reaction mechanism (including the possible generation of irreversible species), and experiments involving a number of consecutive absorption-desorption cycles were used to confirm the reusability of the amino acids. The tested amino acids exhibited higher cyclic capacities compared to those of deep eutectic solvents and ionic liquids reported in the literature, thereby exhibiting excellent potential as SO₂ absorbents. Thus, this study can guide the future design and development of eco-friendly SO₂ absorbents.

Cation functional group effect on SO2 absorption in amino acid ionic liquids

Introduction: The effect of the functional group of the cation on SO2 acidic gas absorption by some designed amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs) was studied. Methods: An isolated pair of glycinate anion and pristine imidazolium-based cation, as well as decorated cation functionalized by hydroxyl (OH), amine (NH₂), carboxylic acid (COOH), methoxy (OCH₃), and acetate (CH₃COO) groups, were structurally optimized by density functional theory (DFT) using split-valence triple-zeta Pople basis set. Results and Discussion: The binding and Gibbs free energy (ΔG_int) values of SO₂ absorption show the AAIL functionalized by the COOH group is the most thermodynamically favorable green solvent and this functional group experiences the closest distance between anion and captured SO₂ and vice versa in the case of cation … SO₂ which may be the main reason for being the best absorbent; in addition, the highest net charge-transfer amount of SO₂ is observed. Comparing the non-covalent interaction of the systems demonstrates that the strongest hydrogen bond between captured gas and anion, as well as π-hole, and van der Waals (vdW) interaction play critical roles in gas absorption; besides, the COOH functional group decreases the steric effect while the CH₃COO functional group significantly increases steric effect after absorption that declines the hydrogen bond.