Amine functionalized radiation induced grafted polyolefin nanofibers for CO2 adsorption

Abstract

A new type of nanofibrous amine-containing adsorbent was prepared for CO2 adsorption by electrospinning of syndiotactic polypropylene (s-PP) followed by radiation induced grafting of glycidyl methacrylate and subsequent amination with ethanolamine. The obtained adsorbents were tested for CO2 adsorption with a mixture of CO2/N2 having 5–15% CO2 using a fixed bed adsorption column at atmospheric pressure. A maximum adsorption capacity of 2.87 mmol/g was achieved for the sample with degree of grafting of 300% and degree of amination of 94% at feed concentration of 15% at 30 °C. This was accompanied by good mechanical characteristics and a very high amine efficiency that reached 75% at room temperature, suggesting that the obtained fibrous adsorbent has high potential for CO2 adsorption.