Solvent Regeneration of a CO2-Loaded BEA–AMP Bi-Blend Amine Solvent with the Aid of a Solid Brønsted Ce(SO4)2/ZrO2 Superacid Catalyst

Abstract

The objective of the current research is to investigate the addition of a solid proton donor catalyst such as HZSM-5 and Ce(SO4)2/ZrO2 to the amine solvent regeneration process at the operation temperature of 85 °C. The HZSM-5 zeolite with Si/Al ratios of 5 to 20 was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The solid superacid catalyst, Ce(SO4)2/ZrO2, was prepared by simply doping ZrO2 with Ce and modifying with sulfate simultaneously. Various techniques such as X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, Brunauer―Emmett―Teller, NH3-temperature-programmed desorption, and pyridine Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the solid acid catalysts. The performance of the catalysts was evaluated in terms of their CO2 desorption rate, CO2 cyclic capacity, and heat duty. The experimental results indicated that the addition of the catalyst to the solvent regeneration process showed simultaneous increase in CO2 desorption rate and cyclic capacity as well as reduction of heat duty....