An Overview of PSA Processes for CO2 Recovery from Power Plant Flue Gas

摘要

Electricity generation, transport and industry are the sectors which are major contributorsto CO_2emissions. There is world wide concern on the rising levels ofCO_2,which isone ofthe major greenhouse gases and has many adverse effects on our environment.Therefore, there is a need to reduce these emissions. Among the various processesavailable for the capture of CO_2fromflue gas from a power plant,adsorptive separationprocesses can be considered as a viable route. Adsorptive separation processes arealready playing a key role for separation and purification of gas streams in various largescale chemical industry and petroleum refinery operations. One such example is thepurification of hydrogen In refineries by Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA). CO_2recoveryfrom flue gas from a power plant poses several challenges such as low partial pressure ofCO_2, high flow rates, temperatures, presence of significant amount oxygen, moistureand particulates. Further more the application of PSA to CO_2recovery will require adaptingnew types of PSA cycles as the component required to be recovered for storage is the onethat is also strongly adsorbed. The present paper gives an overview of the latestdevelopments on adsorbents and use of non-conventional PSA cycles for CO_2recovery.