Carbon dioxide capture by activated methyl diethanol amine impregnated mesoporous carbon

Activated Methyl Diethanol Amine (aMDEA) were impregnated onto the surface of the mesoporous carbon to increase carbon dioxide (CO₂) adsorption capacity. The mesoporous carbon was synthesized through soft template method with phloroglucinol as carbon precursor and triblock copolymer (Pluronic F127) as structure directing agent. These activated MDEA impregnated mesoporous carbon (aMDEA-MC) were characterized using various solid characterization techniques. CO₂ adsorption was investigated using autoclaved-reactor in the batch system. The FTIR spectrum of aMDEA-MC had absorption peaks at 3395 cm^-1 and 1031 cm^-1 which are characteristic for O-H stretch and amine C-N stretch in MDEA. The elemental analyzer showed that nitrogen content on the mesoporous carbon increased after impregnation by 23 wt.%. The BET surface area and total pore volume of mesoporous carbon decreased after impregnation, 43 wt.% and 50 wt.%, respectively. The maximum CO₂ adsorption capacity of aMDEA43-MC was 2.63 mmol/g (298 K, 5 psi and pure CO₂). This is 64 % and 35 % higher compared to the CO₂ adsorption capacity of the starting MC and also commercially available activated carbon with higher surface area. All the results suggest that MDEA-MC is a promising adsorbent for CO₂ capture.