Vacuum swing CO2 adsorption cycles in Waste-to-Energy plants

The performance of vacuum swing adsorption-based processes applied to CO2 capture in Waste-to-Energy plants is explored for the first time. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) are gaining increasing attention in this sector. The analysis of simple cycle configurations for this particular application provi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Durán Vera, Inés, Rubiera González, Fernando, Pevida García, Covadonga
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/192408
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/192408
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:CO2 adsorption
Waste-to-Energy
Vacuum swing adsorption
Pine sawdust
Descripción
Sumario:The performance of vacuum swing adsorption-based processes applied to CO2 capture in Waste-to-Energy plants is explored for the first time. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) are gaining increasing attention in this sector. The analysis of simple cycle configurations for this particular application provides a reference scenario to explore the potentiality of the adsorption technology. Under these premises, the objective of this study is to maximize the CO2 separation from the flue gas of a solid waste incineration facility. Three vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) and one vacuum and temperature swing adsorption (VTSA) configurations were assessed in a fixed-bed laboratory unit and the influence of the cycle design, the number of columns and the operational conditions were analyzed. The adsorbent employed is an activated carbon produced from pine sawdust, a forestry by-product with great availability in our region. Mathematical modeling developed in Aspen Adsorption complemented the experimental study which in turn validated the created model. Additional simulations were performed to further evaluate the effect that the different vacuum swing adsorption configurations have on product purity and recovery. With relatively simple configurations consisting of a maximum of 4-beds, CO2 recoveries above 95% were achieved and CO2 purity was increased from 8% to approximately 35–40%.