Date of Award
12-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Mechanical and Civil Engineering
First Advisor
Darshan G. Pahinkar
Second Advisor
Hamidreza Najafi
Third Advisor
Mary Ann Gaal
Fourth Advisor
Venkat Keshav Chivukula
Abstract
This dissertation addresses the critical challenge of mitigating climate change by advancing CO2 capture technologies. As global CO2 emissions continue to rise, effective methods for capturing and separating CO2 from industrial processes are essential to combat climate change. Existing CO2 capture systems, such as Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) and Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA), often rely on packed bed designs that face limitations, including poor heat and mass transfer, slow gas diffusion, and low thermal conductivity, reducing their efficiency. To overcome these challenges, this dissertation explores innovative solutions by developing advanced adsorbent coatings and scalable bed configurations.
This research begins by introducing the ethanol-enhanced washcoating technique, followed by a novel bio-engineered yeast fermentation approach, to create highly porous, flexible, and cost-effective adsorbent coatings. The process involves the application of zeolite 13X, xanthan gum binder, and yeast fermentation to form adsorbent layers with controlled pore structures. This approach not only enhances the coating's performance but also improves scalability for industrial applications. The bioengineered yeast fermentation process produces highly porous coatings with hollow structures, significantly increasing the surface area available for CO2 adsorption.
To address the challenge of scaling these coatings, the research further investigates their application on metallic substrates, particularly non-porous, highly conductive materials. The coated layers were then integrated into minichannel adsorbent beds, which offer enhanced heat and mass transfer compared to traditional packed bed systems. This combination of
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advanced coating techniques and minichannel technology improves the overall efficiency of CO2 separation, overcoming key barriers in existing systems.
Breakthrough experiments were performed on this adsorbent bed using two gas mixtures: 20% CO2 for post-combustion scenarios and 80% CO2 for industrial applications. The results were compared with those obtained through computational modeling, demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach for large-scale CO2 capture. This work presents a significant step forward in the development of scalable, high-performance CO2 capture technologies, offering a flexible, cost-effective solution that can be adapted for various industrial applications.
Recommended Citation
Bondugula, Mary Sharon Rose, "Fabrication and Performance of Scalable Bio-Engineered Porous Layers for Efficient CO2 Capture" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 1495.
https://repository.fit.edu/etd/1495
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