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Diffusion mechanism of CO2 in 13X zeolite beads

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Abstract

A systematic study of the diffusion mechanism of CO2 in commercial 13X zeolite beads is presented. In order to gain a complete understanding of the diffusion process of CO2, kinetic measurements with a zero length column (ZLC) system and a volumetric apparatus have been carried out. The ZLC experiments were carried out on a single bead of zeolite 13X at 38 °C at a partial pressure of CO2 of 0.1 bar, conditions representative of post-combustion capture. Experiments with different carrier gases clearly show that the diffusion process is controlled by the transport inside the macropores. Volumetric measurements using a Quantachrome Autosorb system were carried out at different concentrations. These experiments are without a carrier gas and the low pressure measurements show clearly Knudsen diffusion control in both the uptake cell and the bead macropores. At increasing CO2 concentrations the transport mechanism shifts from Knudsen diffusion in the macropores to a completely heat limited process. Both sets of experiments are consistent with independent measurements of bead void fraction and tortuosity and confirm that under the range of conditions that are typical of a carbon capture process the system is controlled by macropore diffusion mechanisms.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to dedicate this paper to Fred Leavitt, who is a pioneer in adsorption technology. We hope that he will enjoy this study of the fundamentals of mass transport in commercial beads, linked to an industrially relevant adsorption separation process. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewer for pointing out the need to correct the Knudsen diffusivity using Derjaguin’s approach. Financial support from the EPSRC through Grants EP/F034520/1; EP/G062129/1 and EP/I010939/1 is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, King’s Buildings, Mayfield Rd, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK

    Xiayi Hu, Enzo Mangano, Daniel Friedrich, Hyungwoong Ahn & Stefano Brandani

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  1. Xiayi Hu
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  2. Enzo Mangano
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  3. Daniel Friedrich
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  4. Hyungwoong Ahn
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  5. Stefano Brandani
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Correspondence to Stefano Brandani.

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Hu, X., Mangano, E., Friedrich, D. et al. Diffusion mechanism of CO2 in 13X zeolite beads. Adsorption 20, 121–135 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-013-9554-z

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