Synthesis of T-type zeolite nanoparticles for the separation of CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ by adsorption process

The effects of aging, crystallization temperature and time, and structure directing agent (SDA) on the synthesis of T-type zeolite nanoparticles were investigated systematically. The synthesized zeolites were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BET measurements. Under optimal synthesis conditions, pure T-type zeolites with a particle size of 150-200nm were successfully prepared in a time period as short as 120h. The equilibrium adsorption of pure gases CO₂, N₂, and CH₄ on the synthesized T-type zeolite nanoparticles were measured at 288, 298 and 313K. The T-type zeolite nanoparticles showed the capability of selective adsorption of CO₂ over N₂ and CH₄. At 288K and 100kPa, the selectivity of CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ of the T-type zeolite nanoparticles was 53.71 and 19.15 respectively. Compared to the micro-level T-type zeolite particles, the T-type zeolite nanoparticles exhibited a higher CO₂ adsorption capacity. At 288K and 100kPa, the T-type zeolite nanoparticles showed 4.01mmol/g CO₂ adsorption capacities, 30% higher than micro-level T-type zeolite. The dynamic adsorption experiments of CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ binary gas mixtures demonstrated that the synthesized T-type zeolite nanoparticles have promising adsorption capability and recyclability for the separation of CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ in the potential application to post-combustion CO₂ separation or natural gas purification process.