A Computational Fluid Dynamic Comparative Study on CO2 Adsorption Performance using Activated Carbon and Zeolite in a Fixed Bed Reactor

Abstract

The increasing emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere from various sources has become an issue of great concern all over the world due to its significant contribution to climate change. Carbon capture and storage are commonly recognized as the major approaches to prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. A number of CO2 removal technologies have been reported, including absorption, adsorption, membrane separation, and microalgal fixation. In this study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study was performed to investigate the performance of two adsorbents, coconut fiber activated carbon and zeolite 13X in removing CO2 from a continuous gas stream in a fixed bed adsorption column. A CFD code ANSYS R18.2 was used to investigate the influence of flow rate and bed height on the CO2 removal efficiency and adsorption capacity by varying the inlet feed velocity and bed heights. The results of the simulation showed that the highest CO2 removal efficiency of 63.13 percent was observed when the gas flowed at a rate of 50 cm3/minute to the column filled with the activated carbon adsorbent of 10 cm in height. While in the zeolite adsorbent 13X, the highest CO2 removal efficiency of 57.86 percent was also seen when the gas flowed at a rate of 50 cm3/minute at the bed height of 10 cm.