CO2 selectivity and adsorption performance of K2CO3-modified zeolite: a temperature-dependent study.

High-performing zeolite materials for carbon dioxide capture are promising for applications such as flue gas CO2 capture. Potassium carbonate-loaded zeolites can offer a plethora of benefits. In this work, for the first time, zeolite-Y impregnated with K2CO3 was studied as a gas adsorbent (CO2, CH4, and N2) and characterized using TGA (thermogravimetric analyzer), XRD, BET, FTIR, FETEM (Field-Emission Transmission Electron Microscope), and XPS. The effect of carbonate loading, temperature, and pressure was particularly targeted and assessed. Accordingly, for a variation in K2CO3 loading from 5 to 15 wt.%, the CO2 adsorption capacity reduced from 3.61 to 1.73 mmol g-1 in the synthesized adsorbents. Among all the cases, KYZC10 exhibited very good cyclic adsorption-desorption performance and thermal stability. Further equilibrium modeling studies indicate that the stable and optimally K2CO3-loaded adsorbent (KYZC10) demonstrates effective adsorption isotherm behavior, making it suitable for different temperature variation processes in commercial carbon dioxide capture applications. The KYZC10 adsorbent's stable performance at varying temperatures contributes to its enhanced economic feasibility. This study also used the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) to predict CO2 selectivity over other gases (CH4 and N2).