Amine-oxide adsorbents for post-combustion CO₂ capture

Amine functionalized silicas are promising chemisorbent materials for post-combustion CO₂ capture due to the high density of active sites per unit mass of adsorbent that can be obtained by tuning the synthesis protocol, thus resulting in high equilibrium CO₂ adsorption capacities. However, when compared to physisorbents, they have a few disadvantages. Firstly, oxidative degradation of the amine groups reduces the lifetime of these adsorbent materials. Furthermore, rapid heat release following the reaction between amines and CO₂ results in large local temperature spikes which may adversely affect adsorption equilibria and kinetics. Thirdly, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of CO₂-amine adsorption thermodynamics, which is key to scaling up these materials to an industrial-scale adsorption process. In this dissertation the qualitative and quantitative understanding of these three critical aspects of aminosilica adsorbents have been furthered so these materials can be better evaluated and further tuned as adsorbents for post-combustion CO₂ capture applications.Ph.D

Dynamics of CO₂ Adsorption on Amine Adsorbents. 2. Insights Into Adsorbent Design

Packed bed breakthrough experiments are reported for commercial zeolite 13X and 3-aminopropyl-functionalized SBA-15 silica materials with three different amine loadings. Mass and heat transfer dynamics for all four materials are modeled successfully. Amine adsorbents with open pores are found to exhibit faster mass diffusion rates compared to zeolite 13X. When amine loading is increased by coupling aminopropyl groups, premature breakthrough combined with a long tail is observed. Contrary to conventional physisorbants, finite heat losses to the column wall do not explain the long breakthrough tail. A rate model that accounts for heterogeneity in diffusion was found to accurately capture the breakthrough shape of the high loading material. Batch uptake measurements support the hypothesis that slow diffusion through the polymer phase is what hampers adsorption kinetics in the high amine loading adsorbent. The results emphasize the importance of designing materials that are not overloaded with amine sites, as excessive amine loadings can lead to depressed adsorption kinetics and premature column breakthrough

Dynamics of CO₂ Adsorption on Amine Adsorbents. 1. Impact of Heat Effects

The packed bed heat and mass transfer dynamics of CO₂ adsorption onto a 3-aminopropylsilyl-functionalized SBA-15 silica material are reported. Concentration measurements at the outlet of the packed bed and temperature profiles inside the bed are measured simultaneously. Heat and mass transfer models in conjunction with the linear driving force rate model are used to simulate the concentration and temperature profiles in the bed. The heat and mass transfer processes in the amine adsorbent packed bed are successfully captured by the model, and comparison of isothermal and nonisothermal models reveals that isothermal models provide an accurate description of the dynamic mass transport behavior in the adsorption column under the experimental conditions used in this study. The results help establish that under certain experimental conditions, heat effects in amine adsorbent packed beds have a negligible effect on CO₂ breakthrough, and simple isothermal models can be used to accurately assess adsorption kinetics

Can the Rate of a Catalytic Turnover Be Altered by Ligands in the Absence of Direct Binding Interactions?

Second sphere coordination effects ubiquitous in enzymatic catalysis occur through direct interactions, either covalent or non-covalent, with reaction intermediates and transition states. We present herein evidence of indirect second sphere coordination effects in which ligation of water/alkanols far removed from the primary coordination sphere of the active site nevertheless alter energetic landscapes within catalytic redox cycles in the absence of direct physicochemical interactions with surface species mediating catalytic turnovers. Density functional theory, in situ X-ray absorption and infrared spectroscopy, and a wide array of steady-state and transient CO oxidation rate data suggest that the presence of peripheral water renders oxidation half-cycles within two-electron redox cycles over μ3-oxo-bridged trimers in MIL-100(M) more kinetically demanding. Communication between ligated water and the active site appears to occur through the Fe–O–Fe backbone, as inferred from spin density variations on the central μ3-oxygen ‘junction’. Evidence is provided for the generality of these second sphere effects in that they influence different types of redox half-cycles or metals, and can be amplified or attenuated through choice of coordinating ligand. Specifically in the case of MIL-100(M) materials, the Cr isostructure can be made to kinetically mimic the Fe variant by disproportionately hindering oxidation half-cycles relative to the reduction half-cycles. Kinetic and spectroscopic inferences presented here significantly expand both the conceptual definition of second sphere effects as well as the palette of synthetic levers available for tuning catalytic redox performance through chemical ligation

Important Roles of Enthalpic and Entropic Contributions to CO₂ Capture from Simulated Flue Gas and Ambient Air Using Mesoporous Silica Grafted Amines

The measurement of isosteric heats of adsorption of silica supported amine materials in the low pressure range (0–0.1 bar) is critical for understanding the interactions between CO₂ and amine sites at low coverage and hence to the development of efficient amine adsorbents for CO₂ capture from flue gas and ambient air. Heats of adsorption for an array of silica-supported amine materials are experimentally measured at low coverage using a Calvet calorimeter equipped with a customized dosing manifold. In a series of 3-aminopropyl-functionalized silica materials, higher amine densities resulted in higher isosteric heats of adsorption, clearly showing that the density/proximity of amine sites can influence the amine efficiency of adsorbents. In a series of materials with fixed amine loading but different amine types, strongly basic primary and secondary amine materials are shown to have essentially identical heats of adsorption near 90 kJ/mol. However, the adsorption uptakes vary substantially as a function of CO₂ partial pressure for different primary and secondary amines, demonstrating that entropic contributions to adsorption may play a key role in adsorption at secondary amine sites, making adsorption at these sites less efficient at the low coverages that are important to the direct capture of CO₂ from ambient air. Thus, while primary amines are confirmed to be the most effective amine types for CO₂ capture from ambient air, this is not due to enhanced enthalpic contributions associated with primary amines over secondary amines, but may be due to unfavorable entropic factors associated with organization of the second alkyl chain on the secondary amine during CO₂ adsorption. Given this hypothesis, favorable entropic factors may be the main reason primary amine based adsorbents are more effective under air capture conditions

Vision 2050: Reaction Engineering Roadmap

ABSTRACT: This perspective provides the collective opinions of a dozen chemical reaction engineers from academia and industry. In this sequel to the “Vision 2020: Reaction Engineering Roadmap,” published in 2001, we provide our opinions about the field of reaction engineering by addressing the current situation, identifying barriers to progress, and recommending research directions in the context of four industry sectors (basic chemicals, specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and polymers) and five technology areas (reactor system selection, design and scale-up, chemical mechanism development and property estimation, catalysis, nonstandard reactor types, and electrochemical systems). Our collective input in this report includes numerous recommendations regarding research needs in the field of reaction engineering in the coming decades, including guidance for prioritizing efforts in workforce development, measurement science, and computational methods. We see important roles for reaction engineers in the plastics circularity challenge, decarbonization of processes, electrification of chemical reactors, conversion of batch processes to continuous processes, and development of intensified, dynamic reaction processes