Use of monolithic silicon carbide aerogel as a reusable support for development of regenerable CO2 adsorbent

Monolithic silicon carbide aerogel (MSiCA) was firstly used as a reusable support to develop a novel CO2 adsorbent, i.e. amine functionalized monolithic silicon carbide aerogel (AFMSiCA). Used or exhausted AFMSiCA was separated, treated and re-functionalized by amine to form RF-MSiCA. CO2 capture performance of the resulting adsorbents was investigated in a 1% CO2 flow stream. The results revealed that CO2 adsorption capacities of AFMSiCA at different temperatures ranging from 25 to 75 degrees C showed little change, indicating that the resulting adsorbent is well-adapted to temperature. The adsorption rate is affected by the combined effect of CO2 adsorption and desorption. Benefiting from the highly unique properties of the aerogel (e. g. high surface area and large pore volume), MSiCA-based adsorbents are dynamic in their CO2 adsorption process. MSiCA could be readily recovered and reused at least 12 times without significant loss of CO2 adsorption performance. The resulting adsorbents presented good stability during cyclic adsorption-regeneration tests. MSiCA is exceptional in practical application for CO2 capture due to its excellent reusability and the regenerability of its amine functionalized counterparts.