Mixed amine-modified MCM-41 sorbents for CO2 capture

A CO 2 sorbent was prepared by immobilizing a mixture of tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) and 2-amino-2-methyl- l -propanol (AMP) onto MCM-41. The prepared composites were characterized by N 2 adsorption–desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. CO 2 adsorption–desorption experiments were conducted in a self-assembled fixed bed reactor under the simulated flue gas component of 15   vol.% CO 2 /85 vol.% N 2 . The promoting effects of AMP on the adsorption performance and amine efficiency of TEPA modified MCM-41 were studied. In addition, the effects of the adsorption temperature and the feed flow rate on the CO 2 adsorption process were investigated. Further, the regenerability of the sorbent was studied by performing fifteen adsorption–desorption cycles over the temperature range of 70   °C (adsorption) to 100   °C (desorption). Among the prepared sorbents, MCM-41 modified with 30   wt.% TEPA and 30   wt.% AMP (MCM-41-TEPA30%-AMP30%) showed rapid adsorption kinetics and the maximum CO 2 adsorption capacity of 3.01   mmol-CO 2 /g-sorbent at 70   °C. Moreover, the MCM-41-TEPA30%-AMP30% sorbent exhibited good regenerability and thermal stability. The results demonstrate that the MCM-41-TEPA30%-AMP30% sorbent is a promising CO 2 sorbent.