Preparation of carbon molecular sieves and its impregnation with Co and Ni for CO2/N2 separation

Abstract

The carbon molecular sieves (CMSs) prepared by carbonaceous materials as precursors are effective in CO2/N2 separation. However, selectivity of these materials is too low, since hydrocarbon cracking for developing the desired microporosity in carbonaceous materials has not been done effectively. Hence, in this study, cobalt and nickel impregnation on the precursor was conducted to introduce catalysts for hydrocarbon cracking. Cobalt and nickel impregnation, carbonization under N2 atmosphere, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) by benzene were conducted on the extruded mixtures of activated carbon and coal tar pitch under different conditions to prepare CMSs. The best CMS prepared by carbon deposition on the cobalt-impregnated samples exhibited CO2 adsorption capacity of 54.79 mg/g and uptake ratio of 28.9 at 0 °C and 1 bar. In terms of CO2 adsorption capacity and uptake ratio, CMSs prepared by carbon deposition on non-impregnated and cobalt-impregnated samples presented the best results, respectively. As benzene concentration and CVD time increased, equilibrium adsorption capacity of CO2 decreased, and uptake ratio increased. Cobalt was found to be the best catalyst for benzene cracking in the CVD process.