Adsorption of CO₂ with Thermally Activated Serpentine: Experimental and CFD Simulations in a Fixed-bed Reactor
Abstract
Thermally activated serpentine, abundant in Mg-silicate, shows potential for CO₂ extraction using mineral carbonation. This study aims to evaluate the performance of thermally activated serpentine for CO₂ capture in a fixed-bed reactor by combining breakthrough experiments with CFD simulations. The serpentine was thermally activated at 750 °C for 1.5 hours. CO₂ adsorption using three gas flow rates (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 SLPM) with two variations of adsorbent mass (15 g and 30 g). The results show that the thermal activation of serpentine surface area, micro-porosity, and Mg content, thereby significantly enhancing the material’s capacity and adsorption rate. The breakthrough curve shows that at a flow rate of 0.1 SLPM, the CO₂ capture capacity is 2.81 mg/g, while a at 0.5 SLPM, it provides a good balance between adsorption rate and capacity. Conversely, at 1.0 SLPM, the process is limited by transport, resulting in a steeper, faster breakthrough curve. Kinetic modeling revealed that the Clark and Yoon-Nelson models were better suited to describing the experimental data than Thomas model (R² > 0.99). The integrated experimental and simulation approach provides a strong quantitative basis for predictive design and scale-up of fixed-bed reactors for CO₂ capture. Overall, thermally activated serpentine has proven to be an effective sorbent for CO₂ capture in gas-solid systems, and the validated CFD model provides valuable insights for more efficient reactor design and optimization of operational conditions at an industrial scale.
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