Dynamics of CO 2 Adsorption on Amine Adsorbents. 2. Insights Into Adsorbent Design

Packed bed breakthrough experiments are reported for commercial zeolite 13X and 3-aminopropyl-functionalized SBA-15 silica materials with three different amine loadings. Mass and heat transfer dynamics for all four materials are modeled successfully. Amine adsorbents with open pores are found to exhibit faster mass diffusion rates compared to zeolite 13X. When amine loading is increased by coupling aminopropyl groups, premature breakthrough combined with a long tail is observed. Contrary to conventional physisorbants, finite heat losses to the column wall do not explain the long breakthrough tail. A rate model that accounts for heterogeneity in diffusion was found to accurately capture the breakthrough shape of the high loading material. Batch uptake measurements support the hypothesis that slow diffusion through the polymer phase is what hampers adsorption kinetics in the high amine loading adsorbent. The results emphasize the importance of designing materials that are not overloaded with amine sites, as excessive amine loadings can lead to depressed adsorption kinetics and premature column breakthrough. © 2012 American Chemical Society.