Author(s): Sulim, Olga Eduardovna
Date: 2016
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/29111
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Adsorption phenomena; adsorbents; zeolite 13X; 3D printing; shaping; structuration of the adsorbents; Domínio/Área Científica::Engenharia e Tecnologia::Engenharia Química
The innovative technology of 3D printing was applied in the development of formulations for structuration of adsorbent materials. The goal was the application of structured materials in separation processes of adsorption. The stages of development of a paste made of 13X zeolite, composed by 94% adsorbent, 4.8% polyvinyl alcohol and 1.2% citric acid, are presented. The structuration of the adsorbent with honeycomb and hollow cylinder configurations is described, using the innovative technique of additive manufacture from the developed paste. Additionally, parameters that influence the process were studied: i) printing speed, engine’s number of rotations and temperature of the mobile plate of the equipment, ii) layer height and wall thickness of the printed materials. The present work was done in an FDM-type 3D printer (Fused Deposition Modeling), with an adapted carrier for paste extrusion. The printed adsorbing materials were characterized with thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, nitrogen adsorption at 77K, mercury porosimetry, helium pycnometry and adsorption equilibrium with CO2. The results of the material’s characterization were compared with those obtained by the characterization of the base 13X zeolite as well as the literature. It was observed that using the 3D printing technique does not significantly influence the textural characteristics or the adsorption properties of the adsorbing material, and even presents advantages compared to the more conventional processes of structuration of adsorbent materials with a binder. A 13% loss of CO2 adsorption capacity, in comparison to the original zeolite, was observed in the printed part. It is concluded that 3D printing has potential to be an alternative to structuration of adsorbent materials with complex configurations, and consequently larger surface areas and porous volumes available to adsorption, which can improve the efficiency of processes such as PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption), which is commercially established for separation/purification of gases. The efficiency is ensured, as it maintains the reduced pressure drop along the process’s columns while overcoming the mass and heat transfer limitations induced by structured adsorbent materials through more conventional methods and with simplified geometries.
