Synthesis and Characterization of Amine Impregnated Zeolite from Enugu Clay for CO2 Adsorption

Chemical Engineering

Synthesis and characterization of zeolite from Enugu kaolinite clay was investigated. Clay from Thinkers corner, Emene Enugu was converted to zeolite and the zeolite was subsequently impregnated with monoethanolamine (MEA) using appropriate methods. The raw clay, zeolite produced and the amine impregnated zeolite were then characterized using x-ray fluorescence (XRF), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis. Also, post-combustion adsorption of CO2 using the amine-impregnated zeolite was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of the adsorbent for the capture of carbondioxide. The effect of temperature on the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was investigated. Results of the XRF show that the amount of SiO2-Al2O3 present in the raw clay gave the ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 as 1.57, which is greater than 1, invariably implying that Thinkers Corner clay can be used for zeolite production. For the XRD analysis, the intensity of the diffraction peak did not vary after impregnation with amine, implying that the pore structure order was not affected by the amine. The IR spectra and the observed functional groups present in the amine impregnated zeolite confirmed the integration of amine inside the channels of the zeolite, while for the SEM analysis, the morphology of the zeolite synthesized from kaolinite clay are found to be similar to that of zeolite prepared from other sources. Adsorption studies showed that adsorption capacity of the adsorbents decreased with an increase in temperature. Therefore, Enugu Thinkers Corner clay has proven to be effectively converted to zeolite and utilized for CO2 adsorption.

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