The potential advantages of applying encapsulated ionic liquid (ENIL) to CO2 capture by chemical absorption with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate [bmim][acetate] are evaluated. The [bmim][acetate]-ENIL is a particle material with solid appearance and 70 % w/w in ionic liquid (IL). The performance of this material as CO2 sorbent was evaluated by gravimetric and fixed-bed sorption experiments at different temperatures and CO2 partial pressures. ENIL maintains the favourable thermodynamic properties of the neat IL regarding CO2 absorption. Remarkably, a drastic increase of CO2 sorption rates was achieved using ENIL, related to much higher contact area after discretization. In addition, experiments demonstrate reversibility of the chemical reaction and the efficient ENIL regeneration, mainly hindered by the unfavourable transport properties. The common drawback of ILs as CO2 chemical absorbents (low absorption rate and difficulties in solvent regeneration) are overcome by using ENIL systems.
Keywords: CO2 capture; chemical adsorption; encapsulated ionic liquids; mass transfer limit; thermodynamic properties.
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