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Supported lithium hydroxide for carbon dioxide adsorption in water-saturated environments

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Abstract

Rebreather-type personal protective equipment requires efficient removal of CO2 from the air that the user exhales. The required operating conditions of low CO2 partial pressure, low temperature, and water saturation create a challenging environment for developing high capacity CO2 adsorbents. Biphasic adsorbents of lithium hydroxide supported on high surface area carbons were synthesized and tested for CO2 capacity under water-saturated conditions. The LiOH phase provides high CO2 capacity through chemisorption while the porous carbon structure helps prevent the formation of diffusion barriers that limit the effectiveness of pure LiOH pellets. Several carbons with different pore morphology were tested, and it was determined that the ideal support has a high degree of mesoporosity that balances the need for high surface area without excess blockage of pore volume upon deposition of LiOH. The activated carbon Norit SX Ultra was chosen based on this criterion. It was found that the maximum achievable loading of LiOH on Norit SX Ultra was 30 wt%, and the highest CO2 capacity under water-saturated conditions at atmospheric pressure with one mole percent CO2 in the gas phase was 3.4 mol/kg.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency for the support of this research under Contract W911SR-13-0014.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, PMB 351604, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN, 37235-1604, USA

    Trenton M. Tovar & M. Douglas LeVan

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  1. Trenton M. Tovar
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  2. M. Douglas LeVan
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Correspondence to M. Douglas LeVan.

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Tovar, T.M., LeVan, M.D. Supported lithium hydroxide for carbon dioxide adsorption in water-saturated environments. Adsorption 23, 51–56 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-016-9817-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-016-9817-6

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