CO2 capturing performances of millimeter scale beads made by tetraethylenepentamine loaded ultra-fine palygorskite powders from jet pulverization

Millimeter-sized spheres were prepared in this work as potential solid sorbents for industrial-scale CO 2 capture due to their low cost, excellent adsorption capacity and reusability characters. The naturally abundant palygorskite was smashed with jet pulverization, and then acid treated to increase its surface area from 148 to 390 m 2 /g. Then the tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) functionalized acid-modified palygorskite (MPA) was synthesized via chemical impregnation. In addition, MPA spheres (MPAS) with average size of ∼3.6 mm were produced by a pellet machine. The prepared solid sorbents were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and N 2 adsorption–desorption isotherms treated by BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) analysis. The thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the CO 2 adsorption capacity of nature palygorskite (0.63 mmol/g) could be enhanced through amine modification. The MPAS-50 had the best CO 2 adsorption capacity (2.63 mmol/g) and excellent repeatable adsorption ability, according to the CO 2 adsorption tests. The results indicated that the TEPA-functionalized palygorskite sphere is a promising solid sorbent for CO 2 capture in industrial green house gases controlling fields.