Modeling and experimental studies of carbon dioxide separation on zeolite fixed bed by cyclic pressure swing adsorption

Abstract

The paper presents the results of experimental and model studies of the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process in a column with a zeolite 13X bed with a height of 0.5 m. The gas mixture consisted of CO2 (10–20%), N2, and H2O (RH 50%) in different ratios. As a result of the column tests, concentration, and temperature evolutions were obtained for each of the adsorption and desorption stages, which were used to determine the breakthrough and bed saturation times and other parameters important for the analysis of the column operation. A mathematical model of the PSA process for the separation of CO2 from the gas mixture was developed. The system of second-order partial differential equations was solved using Matlab software. The research focuses on adsorptive CO2 capture and shows the influence of water vapor and operational parameters on the quality of model validation.