Work

Impact of fluctuating temperature and pressure of injected CO 2 on adsorption performance in a packed-bed reactor: A CFD-based study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The performance of CO2 adsorption in industrial carbon capture units is typically subject to dynamic variations in operating conditions, particularly temperature and pressure of the injected gas. This study investigates the impact of different oscillation patterns—sinusoidal, triangular, and step changes—in pressure and temperature of the injected CO2 on the adsorption efficiency within a packed bed reactor using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling. The performance of these oscillatory conditions is first compared against a non-oscillating baseline. Our findings reveal that the oscillating operating conditions lead to diminishing energy efficiency, with step changes scenario resulting in the highest specific energy consumption. Among the oscillatory patterns, triangular waves demonstrate better adsorption uptake and energy performance. Further analysis indicates that increasing the frequency and amplitude of synchronous pressure and temperature oscillations adversely affects specific energy usage and adsorption performance. Notably, temperature oscillations alone have a negligible impact on adsorption kinetics, highlighting that the adsorption process is predominantly governed by pressure fluctuations under the conditions of this study.

Source: Journal of CO2 Utilization

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103253

Authors: Ali M. Sefidan, Jari Vepsäläinen

Institution: Aalto University

Language: English

Topic: Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,360