Carbon dioxide–nitrogen separation through adsorption on activated carbon in a fixed bed

The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from flue gases can be achieved using post-combustion capture technologies such as adsorption. In this paper, we report experimental data for the fixed-bed adsorption of carbon dioxide and nitrogen on activated carbon. The breakthrough curves were obtained at different temperatures – 301–306, 323, 373 and 423 K – using CO2/N2 mixtures. XPS and FTIR measurements were used to identify chemical changes in the adsorbent after CO2 adsorption. A model based on the Linear Driving Force (LDF) approximation for the mass transfer was used, considering the energy and momentum balances, to satisfactorily reproduce the breakthrough curves.