Dynamic cyclic performance of phenol-formaldehyde resinderived carbons for pre-combustion CO_2 capture: An experimental study

摘要

This study focuses on how different regeneration conditions affect the performance of two phenol-formaldehyde resin-derived activated carbons for CO_2 capture from a high pressure CO_2/H_2 gas stream, i.e., pre-combustion capture. Experimental work was conducted in a laboratory fixed-bed reactor where CO_2 adsorption was performed at high pressure (15 bar) and 45°C, and CO_2 desorption was accomplished by reducing the pressure of the system to atmospheric (PSA process), or by coupling the pressure decrease with a rise in temperature (PTSA process). A commercial activated carbon (Calgon BPL) was used as a reference material for the separation process. Desorption under atmospheric pressure and heating favoured the CO_2 capture rate, extract (CO_2) purity and working capacity of all the adsorbents when compared to desorption under atmospheric pressure alone. However, a higher desorption temperature in the pressure and temperature swing process (150° versus 80°C), although it enhanced the capture rate and working capacity, it did not favour the product purity or it even penalised it. The phenol formaldehyde resin-derived activated carbons proved to perform equal or better than the reference commercial one under almost all the different regeneration conditions studied.