The comparison of adsorption characteristics of CO2/H2O and N2/H2O on activated carbon, activated alumina, zeolite 3A and 13X

The breakthrough curves and adsorption amounts of N-2/H2O and CO2/H2O on activated carbon, activated alumina, zeolite 3A and zeolite 13X were studied experimentally. The experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of inlet steam mole fraction, flow rate and temperature. The effect of steam mole fraction on the thermal effect of adsorption was also studied. The results show that the breakthrough time and adsorption saturation time of adsorbates are decreased with increasing flow rate and temperature. When steam mole fraction increases, the breakthrough time and adsorption saturation time of adsorbates on zeolite 3A and 13X are decreased, while these of other adsorbents are increased. As steam mole fraction increases from 1% to 2%, the adsorption amount of CO2 decreases by 2.2-45.4% and that of N-2 decreases by 12.2-19.1%. Zeolite 3A shows a good adsorption selectivity for CO2/H2O and N-2/H2O. The thermal wave peak time of N-2/H2O is 0.71-8.31 min longer than that of CO2/H2O, while the peak temperature of N-2/H2O is 2-16 degrees C smaller than that of CO2/H2O. As steam mole fraction increases from 1% to 2%, the peak temperature of CO2/H2O increases by 1.63-11.55 degrees C and N-2/H2O increases by 2.17-18.17 degrees C. The thermal wave peak of N-2/H2O and CO2/H2O on activated carbon adsorption bed is the smallest among these four adsorbents.

Automated summary

This experiment investigated the breakthrough curves and adsorption amounts of N-2/H2O and CO2/H2O on four different adsorbents. The results showed that flow rate, temperature, and inlet steam mole fraction had significant effects on the adsorption process. Zeolite 3A exhibited good selectivity for CO2/H2O and N-2/H2O.