We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing to browse this website, you agree to our use of cookies. More information.

Researchers from Switzerland and China have recently developed a process that uses ionic polymer catalysis to reuse the extracted carbon dioxide for biogas upgrading, thereby obtaining epoxides as a by-product. The research has been published in the journal "Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research".

Research: Cycloaddition of CO2 containing biogas to epoxides via ionic polymer catalysis: experimental and process simulation research. Photo Credit: Natascha Kaukorat/Shutterstock.com

A biogas upgrader is a facility used to obtain high-purity methane (CH4) from biogas after removing unwanted carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulfide (HS), siloxane, water (H2O) and other pollutants. The methane obtained from biogas is called biomethane.

Generally, biogas contains methane (50-75 vol%), carbon dioxide (25-50 vol%) and other trace components. Pure methane is used as fuel in many industrial applications, which makes biogas an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels.

However, the presence of large amounts of CO2, water and corrosive H2S makes biogas unsuitable for direct use in this industry. In industry, biogas is periodically cooled to condense water and neutralize sulfur compounds by passing the gas through activated carbon.

Traditionally, CO2 is removed from biogas through amine scrubbing, water scrubbing, pressure swing adsorption (PSA), and membrane transfer. However, all these methods simply release the extracted carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Through cycloaddition, the extracted CO2 is reused to achieve an energy-efficient and cost-effective biogas upgrade method, while converting the CO2 into value-added products.

Currently, pilots of in-situ methanation plants are adding hydrogen (H2) to reduce CO2 in bottom adsorbents (such as ash); this is called direct air capture (DAC). However, by reacting CO2 with a suitable alkali or epoxide, the high cost of industrial-scale H2 production using a water electrolyzer can be eliminated. The by-products of CO2 and epoxides are organic cyclic carbonates (PC) of industrial importance.

The researchers used propylene oxide (PO) as the epoxide and polymer ionic liquid (IL) as the catalyst to pressurize the CH4-CO2 gas mixture in different proportions. The gas mixture was passed through the PO-IL mixture, and the purity of the yield PC was analyzed.

As the reaction temperature increases, the activity of the IL polymer catalyst increases significantly, which reduces the time required to reach the equilibrium of the reaction. However, due to the exothermic reaction, the equilibrium yield of PC decreases with increasing temperature. It was found that the reaction rate depends on Henry's constant and CO2 concentration.

The team simulated three situations with different CO2 concentrations and their respective PO conversion rates, and found that product purity increased as the CO2 concentration in the feed gas mixture increased, resulting in a high flow rate of PC in the product outlet.

Forecast the potential of biochemical methane to improve the efficiency of biogas production

The researchers compared the purity of PC obtained using Peng-Robinson and other methods. When the flash tank was set to work at 35°C and 1 atmosphere, they observed small differences in PC purity and product temperature. Follow the same order of PC purity in the case study-Case 1 <Case 2 <Case 3. This verifies the optimization of the new development process.

In addition, after adding the scrubbing-flashing of biogas before the reaction, the process is significantly enhanced, instead of directly using crude biogas as feed. Overall, the team achieved a PC yield of 88.9% in the reactor and 93.9% in product exports.

The researchers concluded that the design process of the industrial-scale cycle with the addition of carbon dioxide biogas upgrade agent needs to match the kinetic behavior of the reaction with the production of biogas, and integrate biogas scrubbing in advance to achieve fast kinetics and high PC yield .

The researchers also conducted an economic evaluation of the new process for the carbon dioxide contained in the biogas. They conducted a general sensitivity analysis and determined two key parameters: 1) unit size and 2) price difference between product and feed.

Their evaluation model shows that the process can be profitable depending on the size of the plant. Even if the price of PC is lower than the price of PO, because the molecular weight of PC is higher than that of PO, calculated at the price per ton, the whole process is still profitable. According to the results of this model, the biogas purification plant can produce more than 80 000 tons of PC per year (330 working days).

X. Hu, F. Bobbink, A. Muyden, M. Amiri, A. Bonnin, F. Marechal, M. Nazeeruddin, Z. Qi and P. Dyson, through ionic polymer catalysis to cycloaddition of biogas-containing CO2 into a ring Oxide: Experimental and process simulation research, Ind. Eng. Chemistry research, 2021. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c03895

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author in a personal capacity, and do not necessarily represent the views of the owner and operator of this website AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork. This disclaimer forms part of the terms and conditions of use of this website.

Bismay is a technical writer living in Bhubaneswar, India. His academic background is engineering, and he has extensive experience in content writing, journal review, and mechanical design. Bismay holds a master's degree in materials engineering and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and is passionate about science, technology and engineering. Outside of work, he likes online games and cooking.

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your paper, essay, or report:

Prakash defeated, Bismay. (2021, November 23). Cycloaddition of CO2 to the biogas upgrade agent used for epoxides. AZoM. Retrieved from https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=57424 on November 25, 2021.

Prakash defeated, Bismay. "Biogas upgrade agent for cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxide". AZoM. November 25, 2021. <https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=57424>.

Prakash defeated, Bismay. "Biogas upgrade agent for cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxide". AZoM. https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=57424. (Accessed November 25, 2021).

Prakash defeated, Bismay. 2021. Cycloaddition of CO2 to the biogas upgrade agent used for epoxides. AZoM, viewed on November 25, 2021, https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=57424.

Do you have any comments, updates, or anything you want to add to this news story?

In this interview, we will discuss the need for advanced solutions to semiconductor manufacturing challenges, and how Hardinge Inc. solves various semiconductor manufacturing applications through innovative products.

AZoM talks with Dr. Robert Shepherd from Cornell University. In their research, Dr. Shepherd and his team produced a key component of a technology that can make inflatable braille that changes shape under the touch of the user a reality. Triggered by burning, Dr. Shepherd and his team created a hapt

Michael is part of a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which has developed a data-driven system that accelerates the process of discovering new 3D printing materials.

The knife grinder GRINDOMIX GM 200 has two sharp, sturdy blades and a powerful 1000 W motor, making it an ideal instrument for grinding and homogenizing food and feed.

The Extrel VeraSpec atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer (APIMS) is designed to provide reliable and reproducible low part-per-trillion detection limits for pollution control in ultra-high purity (UHP) gases used in semiconductor and other high-tech industrial applications.

For many years, rotovaps (rotovaps) have been the standard for laboratories and industries that perform chemistry, such as laboratories in the pharmaceutical, chemistry, life sciences, materials, environment, and cannabis sectors.

New research in China Physics Letters investigated the superconductivity and charge density waves in single-layer materials grown on graphene substrates.

This article will explore a new method that makes it possible to design nanomaterials with an accuracy of less than 10 nm.

This article reports on the preparation of synthetic BCNTs by catalytic thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD), resulting in rapid charge transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte.

AZoM.com-AZoNetwork website

Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2021