(400ar) Design and Evaluation of an Advanced Adsorbent for CO? Removal from Low-CO? Emission Sources

Efforts to fundamentally eliminate carbon dioxide (CO₂), a major contributor to global warming and extreme weather events, at the point of emission have led to extensive research into technologies such as adsorption, absorption, and membrane separation. In this study, we evaluated the performance and adsorption behavior of an adsorbent developed for CO₂ removal from the flue gas of liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plants. LNG power generation, a cleaner energy source than coal and oil, has shown steady global growth, with demand expected to rise by over 60% by 2040. However, the CO₂ partial pressure in LNG flue gas is approximately one-third of that in coal-based flue gas, making it difficult to apply conventional carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Therefore, the development of CCS technologies optimized for the unique characteristics of LNG flue gas is urgently required.

Based on the characteristics of LNG flue gas, a novel adsorbent was synthesized in this study. The structural properties of the synthesized material were analyzed using BET surface area measurements, pore volume and pore size distribution analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, adsorption experiments were conducted at various temperatures to determine the adsorption capacities and isosteric heats for CO₂ and N₂. The CO₂ selectivity was also calculated under simulated LNG flue gas conditions.

The results demonstrated that the newly developed adsorbent exhibited significantly higher CO₂ selectivity and superior adsorption performance compared to conventional commercial adsorbents. These findings indicate that the material enables effective CO₂ capture under low-concentration conditions, such as those present in LNG power plant flue gas. Moreover, the high performance of the adsorbent suggests its potential applicability not only in LNG power plants, but also in other major CO₂-emitting industries such as coal-fired power plants, steel manufacturing, and cement production.

Reference:

[1] Kang, J. H., Yoon, T. U., Kim, S. Y., Kim, M. B., Kim, H. J., Yang, H. C., & Bae, Y. S., Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 281 (2019) 84.

[2] Kim, S. Y., Han, S., Lee, S., Kang, J. H., Yoon, S., Park, W., ... & Bae, Y. S., Advanced Science 9 21 (2022) 2201559.

[3] Lee, J., Park J., Jeong, J-K., Kwak, N-S., Sim, J-G., Korean Energy Society (2023).