Given the global pressure of climate change and ecological equilibrium, there is an urgent need to develop effective carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology. Due to its comprehensiveness and flexibility, Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology has emerged as a vital supplement to traditional emission reduction methods. This study aims to innovate Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology by utilizing the ultrasonic impregnation method to load Tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) onto alumina (Al2O3) as the adsorbent. Furthermore, high gravity adsorption technology is integrated to significantly enhance the efficiency of DAC. Characterization tests, including BET, FTIR, TG, XRD, and SEM-EDS, confirm the structural stability and high capture capacity of the adsorbent. Additionally, this study demonstrates the rapid and efficient capture of CO2 from the air using TEPA-Al2O3 adsorbent under high gravity conditions for the first time. Under optimal conditions with TEPA loading at 15.06%, a high gravity factor of 2.67, and a gas flow rate of 30 L/min, TEPA-Al2O3 achieves a CO2 adsorption capacity of 48.5 mg/g in RAB, which is an improvement of 15.56 mg/g compared to traditional fixed-bed technology. Moreover, it reaches adsorption saturation faster under high gravity conditions, exhibiting a significantly higher adsorption rate compared to traditional fixed-bed systems. Furthermore, the adsorption process better conforms to the Avrami model. Steam stripping regeneration is utilized to regenerate the adsorbent, demonstrating excellent regeneration performance and stable adsorption capacity, thereby proving its feasibility and economic benefits as a DAC technology.
This research established a novel method for the preparation of pseudo-boehmite (PB) via a continuous carbonation of CO2 gas and a NaAlO2 solution in a cross-flow rotating packed bed (CF-RPB). In the CF-RPB, the NaAlO2 solution can be sheared into fine liquid filaments and droplets, and react in full contact with the CO2 gas. Effects of synthesis parameters, including the concentration of the NaAlO2 solution, the gas–liquid ratio, the rotating speed of the CF-RPB, and the final pH of the solution on the crystal structure of PB, were fully investigated. A series of characterizations, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, were carried out to explain the evaluation results and to find the relationship between PB properties and the synthetic conditions. The results showed that PB with a high specific surface area (495 m2/g) and large pore volume (2.125 cc/g) can be obtained when the concentration of the NaAlO2 solution was 0.1 mol/L, the gas–liquid ratio was 3:1, the rotating speed of RPB was 600 rpm, and the final pH was around 10.5. PB obtained by this method had a higher quality compared with that using a stirred tank reactor. Moreover, the continuous carbonation can be efficiently batch-produced, which provided a new idea for an industrial application.
High-gravity wet dust removal technology has attracted much attention because of its potential to cut liquid into smaller liquid droplets and lower energy consumption. However, the complex structure and the high-speed rotation of the rotating packed bed do not allow us to analyze the flow field using conventional methods, and thus the capture mechanism of fine particles in a high-gravity environment is poorly understood. In this study, a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model was established to investigate the distribution of the gas–liquid two-phase flow field inside of a rotating packed bed. The characteristics of the flow field, such as the liquid form, gas–liquid contact time, and gas flow path, were investigated, and the droplet size distribution and gas–liquid slip velocity were quantitatively analyzed. The inertial capture efficiency was calculated using the Stokes number, and the dust removal efficiency distribution in the rotating packed bed was compared. The reason for the high collection efficiency of fine particles by the high-gravity wet dust removal technology was explained by numerical simulations. Two new structures were designed to improve the total dust removal efficiency.
The preparation of highly peptizable pseudoboehmite faces challenges such as slow reaction rate, prolonged aging times leading to poor peptization performance, and difficulty in achieving continuous production. In this study, a novel approach was proposed involving a high gravity reactor to enhance carbonation reaction control for pseudoboehmite nucleation, a high gravity steam heating process, and a continuous aging process in pipelines. By coupling these three processes, the continuous whole process production of highly peptizable pseudoboehmite under high gravity conditions was achieved. First, the effect of high gravity reactor enhancement on the reaction and the resulting solid phase was investigated. Second, the impact of aging temperature and time on the solid phase formed at different reaction end points was studied using high gravity and steam heating of the liquid phase. Furthermore, the influence of synthesis conditions on the peptization performance of pseudoboehmite was extensively examined. Finally, the nucleation and growth mechanisms of pseudoboehmite under high gravity conditions were analyzed. It was found that increasing high gravity factor, CO2 gas flow rate, and CO2 content accelerated carbonation reaction rate, promoting pseudoboehmite crystal nucleation. Increasing aging temperature and time facilitated the growth of pseudoboehmite nuclei and improved peptization performance. The high gravity device altered the gas-liquid phase contact state of traditional kettle-type equipment, reducing the reaction time and heating time from minutes to seconds, thus achieving the continuous whole process production of pseudoboehmite with a peptization index of 100% from sodium aluminate solution by kiln flue gas.