How Adsorbents Work in TSA and CO₂ Absorption

At the Carbon Team, adsorbents play a crucial role and are a topic of ongoing research in our partner laboratories. Combined with temperature swing adsorption (TSA), they can separate and capture gasses, in our case CO2.

Adsorbents are materials designed to attract and hold gases on their surface. Think of adsorbents as special sponges designed to trap CO₂. Just like sponges have pores to hold water, adsorbents have tiny pores that capture CO₂ molecules. But there's a twist: adsobants doesn't just hold the CO₂ forever, they can release it when needed, making them reusable for multiple cycles.

The TSA process can be broken up into two main stages:
1) The Adsorption Phase: During this phase, the adsorbent captures CO₂ from a gas stream. The adsorbent material is kept at a room temperature, which makes it easier for CO₂ molecules to stick to its surface.
2) Desorption Phase: Once the adsorbent has reached and equilbrium loading of CO₂, the system heats it up. The higher temperature affects this equlibrium, letting go of CO₂ molecules, freeing the adsorbent for reuse. The released CO₂ can then be collected and stored or used for other purposes.

New adsorbants are being disovered and perfected every day to optimize key componenets. This quest is a case of finding a balance between key paramters. The ideal adsorbant should of course have a great adsoption capacity and high selectivity (targenting only CO2 molecules). However, its thermal stability, moisture tolerance and cost of regeneration are just as important factors. Three adsorbants have already made their proofs:

• Zeolites are crystalline, porous materials with precise pore sizes that selectively trap CO₂ molecules, making them ideal for high-concentration CO₂ capture in industrial settings.
• Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are highly tunable materials with massive internal surface areas, offering exceptional CO₂ capture capacity and selectivity, especially in advanced technologies.
• Activated Carbon is a versatile, porous material derived from organic sources, known for its high surface area and ability to work effectively in humid and diverse temperature conditions

Adsorbents are our vital tools at the carbon team for tackling climate change. By selectively capturing CO₂ through adsorption and using thermal energy to release it, these systems offer a smart and sustainable way to manage carbon emissions.

Don't hesitate to reach out to us for more information !