Tetraethylenepentamine Supported with Kaolin for CO2 Capture

The increase in greenhouse gas emission due to the consumption of vast amounts of fossil-based energy resources is most likely associated with climate changes.  Among the major greenhouse gases is CO₂, which is responsible for approximately 64% of the greenhouse effects observed to date. Therefore, it is essential to improve current CO₂ capture technologies for cost-effective CO₂ capture. In this work, a CO₂ adsorbent was prepared by immobilizing tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) onto kaolin, an inexpensive and widely available clay. The prepared sorbents were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). At the optimal TEPA loading (30 wt%) on the kaolin, the CO₂ sorption capacity of the sorbent reached 2.13 mmol CO₂/g-sorbent at 70°C with the presence of  moisture  (ca.10 vol %). The regeneration of the adsorbent can be achieved using nitrogen at 100 °C. This work shows that this polymer composite has the potential to be applied as a solid sorbent for CO₂ capture.