Dynamic cyclic performance of phenol-formaldehyde resin derived carbons for pre-combustion CO² capture: An experimental study

This study focuses on how different regeneration conditions affect the performance of two phenol-formaldehyde resin-derived activated carbons for CO2 capture from a high pressure CO2/H2 gas stream, i.e., pre-combustion capture. Experimental work was conducted in a laboratory fixed-bed reactor where CO2 adsorption was performed at high pressure (15 bar) and 45 °C, and CO2 desorption was accomplished by reducing the pressure of the system to atmospheric (PSA process), or by coupling the pressure decrease with a rise in temperature (PTSA process). A commercial activated carbon (Calgon BPL) was used as a reference material for the separation process.

Desorption under atmospheric pressure and heating favoured the CO2 capture rate, extract (CO2) purity and working capacity of all the adsorbents when compared to desorption under atmospheric pressure alone. However, a higher desorption temperature in the pressure and temperature swing process (150° versus 80 °C), although it enhanced the capture rate and working capacity, it did not favour the product purity or it even penalised it. The phenol-formaldehyde resin-derived activated carbons proved to perform equal or better than the reference commercial one under almost all the different regeneration conditions studied.