CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE AND CONCENTRATION FROM WET FLUE GAS BY VACUUM SWING ADSORPTION

Abstract

There is now a general consensus that global warming is real and a result of anthropogenic CO2. The objective of this study is a detailed techno-economic assessment of carbon capture and concentration (CCC) from wet flue gas (H2O/CO2/N2) emitted from a coal fired power plant by vacuum swing adsorption (VSA). Silica gel was chosen for drying wet flue gas and Zeolite-13X was the adsorbent for CCC from dried flue gas. An experimental and simulation study was conducted to establish the adsorption and diffusion of N2, CO2, moisture and their mixture on silica gel. The experimentally validated equilibrium and kinetic models of wet flue gas components on silica gel were incorporated in VSA process simulator to study drying process and it was validated with VSA experiments for drying wet flue gas on silica gel. The simulation model was finally employed for scale-up design and cost analysis of drying and CCC units.