Absorption/regeneration performance evaluation of methanol based magnetic nanoabsorbent for industrial CO₂ capture applications

In the present study, surface modification of Fe₃O₄ particles with ascorbic acid (AA-Fe₃O₄) is carried out to enhance the absorption and regeneration performances of Fe₃O₄ nanoabsorbents with magnetic fields. The surface modified AA-Fe₃O₄ particles compensate for the defects of commercial magnetic nanoparticles by enhanced hydrophilicity and increased surface area. Methanol, which is widely used as a conventional industrial physical absorbent of CO₂ capture, is used as a base fluid; however, the absorption process must be operated at low temperature for high absorption performance. In addition, a substantial amount of energy input is required to reach the regeneration operating temperature. Manufactured AA-Fe₃O₄ is analyzed using various analysis methods to assess absorption characteristics. Furthermore, a property analysis of 0.005 vol% AA-Fe₃O₄ dispersed in methanol shows that a high dispersion stability is obtained compared to 0.005 vol% commercial Fe₃O₄ dispersed in methanol. An evaluation on the performance of AA-Fe₃O₄ at 25 °C in the presence of external rotating magnetic fields shows an enhancement of 23.3 % in absorption. According to the specific energy consumption analysis, it is concluded that AA-Fe₃O₄/methanol nanoabsorbents will be beneficial for industrial applications in efficient energy savings for CO₂ capture.