Experimental Results of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) for Pre-combustion CO2 Capture with Metal Organic Frameworks

Abstract

Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA) has already proved that it can be used for capture of CO2 from the tail gas of the PSA process for hydrogen purification. The demo operated in Port Arthur by Air Products has already captured more than 1 million metric tons of CO2. In this work we are evaluating the utilization of a formulated metal-organic framework (UTSA-16) for capture of CO2 from steam-methane reforming off-gases with the aim of selectively capture CO2, while allowing hydrogen and other components to pass through it, aiming to remove the requirement of vacuum for CO2 capture in this application. We have measured quaternary breakthrough curves with 76% H2, 17% CO2, 3% CH4 and 4% CO simulating the off-gas of a typical steam-methane reformer. We have also simulated the results using a mathematical model that constitutes the basis for design and improvement of the PSA unit.