Impact of operating parameters on CO2 capture using carbon monolith by Electrical Swing Adsorption technology (ESA)

- MAST carbon monolith experimentally assessed for its CO2 capture performance.
- CO2 capture studied over a range in electrification conditions and flow rates.
- The optimal current for maximum purity was 12 A.

Electrical Swing Adsorption (ESA) technology is an interesting option for rapid temperature swing adsorption to capture CO2 due to its highly efficient and rapid regeneration with the Joule effect. Electric current, electrification time and N2 purge rate have strong effects on ESA processing performance. In this study, these operating parameters were investigated experimentally and theoretically, for their effect on CO2 product purity, recovery, harvest time and energy consumption. For a feed stream of 15% CO2 balanced with N2 using a MAST© carbon monolith, CO2 purity and energy consumption significantly increased as electric current and electrification time increased; CO2 recovery increased as N2 purge rate increased; these three factors all impacted on CO2 productivity positively, that is, productivity increased with increase of each of electric current, electrification time and N2 purge rate. The optimal conditions obtained for CO2 capture using MAST© monolith in this study are electric current of 12 A, electrification time of 80 s and N2 purge rate of 600 ml/min (0.088 m/s). Under such optimal condition, a CO2 purity of 52%, and a recovery of 76% was achieved with an energy consumption of 5.64 MJ/kg.CO2.