Synthesis and CO2 adsorption behavior of amine-functionalized porous polystyrene adsorbent

A solid amine adsorbent was prepared by modifying a porous polystyrene resin (XAD-4) with chloroacetyl chloride through a Friedel–Crafts acylation reaction, followed by aminating with tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA). The adsorption behavior of CO 2 from a simulated flue gas on the solid amine adsorbent was evaluated. Factors that could determine the CO 2 adsorption performance of the adsorbents such as amine species, adsorption temperature, and moisture were investigated. The experimental results showed that the solid amine adsorbent modified with TEPA (XAD-4-TEPA), which had a longer chain, showed an amine efficiency superior to the other two amine species with shorter chains. The CO 2 adsorption capacity decreased obviously as the temperature increased because the reaction between CO 2 and amine groups was an exothermic reaction, and its adsorption amount reached 1.7 mmol/g at 10 °C in dry conditions. The existence of water could significantly increase the CO 2 adsorption amount of the adsorbent by promoting the chemical adsorption of CO 2 on XAD-4-TEPA. The adsorbent kept almost the same adsorption amount after 10 cycles of adsorption–desorption. All of these results indicated that amine-functionalized XAD-4 resin was a promising CO 2 adsorbent. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45046.