An Efficient Strategy for Electroreduction Reactor Outlet Fractioning into Valuable Products

In this work, two industrial dual-step pressure swing adsorption (PSA) processes were designed and simulated to obtain high-purity methane, CO₂, and syngas from a gas effluent of a CO₂ electroreduction reactor using different design configurations. Among the set of zeolites that was investigated using Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations, NaX and MFI were the ones selected. The dual-PSA process for case study 1 is only capable of achieving a 90.5% methane purity with a 95.2% recovery. As for case study 2, methane is obtained with a 97.5% purity and 95.3% recovery. Both case studies can produce CO₂ with high purity and recovery (>97 and 95%, respectively) and syngas with a H₂/CO ratio above 4. Although case study 2 allows methane to be used as domestic gas, a much higher value for its energy consumption is observed compared to case study 1 (64.9 vs 29.8 W h mol_CH4^-1).

When less is more: does more Na+-cations mean more adsorption sites for toluene in faujasites?

The unique properties of zeolites make them an interesting material to be used in separation processes. The possibility of tailoring some of their characteristics, like the Si/Al ratio, allows optimizing their synthesis for a given task. Concerning the adsorption of toluene by faujasites an understanding of the effect of cations is necessary to foster the elaboration of new materials, which can capture molecules with a high degree of selectivity and sensitivity. Undoubtedly, this knowledge is relevant for a wide range of applications going from the elaboration of technologies for improving the air-quality to diagnostic procedures to prevent health risks. The studies reported here using Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations elucidate the role of Na-cations in the adsorption of toluene by faujasites with different Si/Al ratios. They detail how the location of the cations inhibits or enhances the adsorption. The cations located at site II are shown to be those enhancing the adsorption of toluene on faujasites. Interestingly, the cations located at site III generate a hindrance at high loading. This becomes an impediment for the organization of toluene molecules inside faujasites.

Truly combining the advantages of polymeric and zeolite membranes for gas separations

Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) have been investigated to render energy-intensive separations more efficiently by combining the selectivity and permeability performance, robustness, and nonaging properties of the filler with the easy processing, handling, and scaling up of the polymer. However, truly combining all in one single material has proven very challenging. In this work, we filled a commercial polyimide with ultrahigh loadings of a high-aspect ratio, CO₂-philic Na-SSZ-39 zeolite with a three-dimensional channel system that precisely separates gas molecules. By carefully designing both zeolite and MMM synthesis, we created a gas-percolation highway across a flexible and aging-resistant (more than 1 year) membrane. The combination of a CO₂-CH₄ mixed-gas selectivity of ~423 and a CO₂ permeability of ~8300 Barrer outperformed all existing polymer-based membranes and even most zeolite-only membranes.

Performance-Based Screening of Porous Materials for Carbon Capture

Computational screening methods have changed the way new materials and processes are discovered and designed. For adsorption-based gas separations and carbon capture, recent efforts have been directed toward the development of multiscale and performance-based screening workflows where we can go from the atomistic structure of an adsorbent to its equilibrium and transport properties at different scales, and eventually to its separation performance at the process level. The objective of this work is to review the current status of this new approach, discuss its potential and impact on the field of materials screening, and highlight the challenges that limit its application. We compile and introduce all the elements required for the development, implementation, and operation of multiscale workflows, hence providing a useful practical guide and a comprehensive source of reference to the scientific communities who work in this area. Our review includes information about available materials databases, state-of-the-art molecular simulation and process modeling tools, and a complete catalogue of data and parameters that are required at each stage of the multiscale screening. We thoroughly discuss the challenges associated with data availability, consistency of the models, and reproducibility of the data and, finally, propose new directions for the future of the field.

Reminiscent capillarity in subnanopores

Fluids in large and small pores display different behaviors with a crossover described through the concept of critical capillarity. Here we report experimental and simulation data for various siliceous zeolites and adsorbates that show unexpected reminiscent capillarity for such nanoporous materials. For pore sizes D exceeding the fluid molecule size, the filling pressures p are found to follow a generic behavior k_BT ln p ∼ γ/ρD where γ and ρ are the fluid surface tension and density. This result is rationalized by showing that the filling chemical potential for such ultra-small pores is the sum of an adsorption energy and a capillary energy that remains meaningful even for severe confinements. A phenomenological model, based on Derjaguin’s formalism to bridge macroscopic and molecular theories for condensation in porous materials, is developed to account for the behavior of fluids confined down to the molecular scale from simple parameters.

Confined fluids in porous media exhibit different behaviors in large and small pores, the crossover between the two regimes being not well understood. Here the authors show, by experiments and simulations, that capillarity is reminiscent even for very small pore diameters, providing a unified picture.

Zeolites for CO2-CO-O2 Separation to Obtain CO2-Neutral Fuels

Carbon dioxide release has become an important global issue due to the significant and continuous rise in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and the depletion of carbon-based energy resources. Plasmolysis is a very energy-efficient process for reintroducing CO₂ into energy and chemical cycles by converting CO₂ into CO and O₂ utilizing renewable electricity. The bottleneck of the process is that CO remains mixed with O₂ and residual CO₂. Therefore, efficient gas separation and recuperation are essential for obtaining pure CO, which, via water gas shift and Fischer-Tropsch reactions, can lead to the production of CO₂-neutral fuels. The idea behind this work is to provide a separation mechanism based on zeolites to optimize the separation of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and oxygen under mild operational conditions. To achieve this goal, we performed a thorough screening of available zeolites based on topology and adsorptive properties using molecular simulation and ideal adsorption solution theory. FAU, BRE, and MTW are identified as suitable topologies for these separation processes. FAU can be used for the separation of carbon dioxide from carbon monoxide and oxygen and BRE or MTW for the separation of carbon monoxide from oxygen. These results are reinforced by pressure swing adsorption simulations at room temperature combining adsorption columns with pure silica FAU zeolite and zeolite BRE at a Si/Al ratio of 3. These zeolites have the added advantage of being commercially available.

Methane adsorption in ADOR zeolites: a combined experimental and DFT/CC study

Physical adsorption of methane in purely siliceous molecular sieves prepared by a recently discovered synthetic pathway using 2D zeolites as nanoscale building blocks has been investigated by means of combined experimental and theoretical approaches. The DFT/CC-based method has been tested on ADOR zeolites of the UTL family and a few experimentally well-characterized siliceous zeolites. Excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental heats of adsorption has been found for OKO, PCR, MFI, CHA and AEI zeolites. The observed discrepancy for the UTL germanosilicate (2 kJ mol^-1) has been plausibly explained using a simple model of D4R defects. The proposed methodology can be used as a reliable characterization tool for newly synthesized silica nanomaterials.

Comparing gas separation performance between all known zeolites and their zeolitic imidazolate framework counterparts

Candidate structures for environmental and industrial gas separations. No correlation between zeolites and their respective Zeolitic Imidazolate framework counterparts.

On the performance of FAU and MFI zeolites for the adsorptive removal of a series of volatile organic compounds from air using molecular simulation

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions can cause serious risk to human health and the environment. In this work, we used Monte Carlo simulations to assess the performance of industrially important zeolites for the adsorption-based removal of a number of common air pollutants, particularly small saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons: propane, butane, propene, and 1-butene. We focused on the cage-like FAU and channel-like MFI zeolites. The adsorption isotherms of the multicomponent N2/O2/Ar/VOC mixtures at real concentrations and room temperature reveal a considerable influence of the host topology and pore dimensions. While the adsorption of the VOCs from the mixture in FAU is almost negligible, it is remarkable in MFI. The adsorption selectivity of each VOC over the air compounds exhibits a maximum at about 10(6)-10(7) Pa, and then decreases to virtually zero due to entropic effects. This behaviour for selectivity is maintained regardless of the chain length and the presence of double bonds in the VOC, but the values are indeed affected. Also, we examined the selectivity at 10(7) Pa for a number of other widely used zeolites, with pore features ensuring the diffusion of the adsorbates. Apart from MFI, we also found the channel-like MEL and MTW zeolite candidates for the targeted air decontamination.