CO2 sorption on surface-modified carbonaceous support: Probing the influence of the carbon black microporosity and surface polarity

The use of solid sorbents is a convenient option in post-combustion CO2 capture strategies. Sorbents selection is a key point because the materials are required to be both low-cost and versatile in typical post-combustion conditions in order to guarantee an economically advantageous overall process. This work compares strategies to tailor the chemico-physical features of carbon black (CB) by surfacemodification and/or coating with a CO2-sorbent phase. The influence of the CB microporosity, enhanced by chemical/thermal treatments, is also taken into account. Three CB surface modifications are performed and compared: (i) oxidation and functionalization with amino-groups, (ii) coating with iron oxides and (iii) impregnation with an ionic liquid (IL). The CO2 capture performance is evaluated on the basis of the breakthrough curves measured at atmospheric pressure and room temperature in a lab-scale fixed bed micro-reactor. Most of tested solids adsorb a CO2 amount significantly higher than a 13X zeolite and DARCO FGD (Norit) activated carbon (up to 4 times more in the best case). The sorbents bearing basic functionalities (amino-groups and IL) exhibit the highest CO2 sorption capacity. The use of a microporous carbonaceous support limits the accessibility of CO2 toward the adsorbing phase (IL or FM) lowering the number of accessible binding sites for CO2. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.