Characteristics of CO₂ Capture by Tetraethylenepentamine Modified Mesoporous Silica Morphology

The objective of the study is to investigate the morphology effects of porous silica supports on the CO₂ capture performance of solid amine adsorbents. Mesoporous hollow silica spheres (MHSS) and mesoporous silica spheres (MSS) were synthesized and modified by wet impregnation with tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) as solid adsorbents. The prepared adsorbents were characterized by TEM, XRD, N₂ adsorption/desorption, FT-IR, and TGA. The CO₂ capture performances of the adsorbents were evaluated using a flow method at atmospheric pressure. Gas chromatography was used to analyze the CO₂ concentration in the influent and effluent gas streams. Due to the excellent structural properties of the MHSS, it was found to be a better amine support than MSS. An increase in the amount of loaded TEPA improved the CO₂ adsorption capacity of the prepared adsorbents. The optimum CO₂ adsorption capacities were obtained with MHSS-47 and MSS-41.