Adsorbents for adsorption separation of CO2 and CH4: A literature review

Abstract

AbstractNatural gas consisting mainly of methane is becoming increasingly prominent as a clean energy source. However, the major impurity, carbon dioxide, can adversely affect the performance of natural gas. Therefore, separating CO2 from CH4 is necessary to decrease the erosion of pipelines and increase the calorific value. This paper aimed at reviewing the performances, mechanisms, and novel developments of common adsorbents to adsorb pure CH4, pure CO2, and their mixtures. Several studies suggest that zeolites exhibit better separating performance than metal organic frameworks (MOFs) except the modified amine‐MIL group. Activated carbons may not be suitable adsorbents due to low selectivity between CO2 and CH4. The modified amine‐MIL group are the best type of adsorbent to separate CO2 from CH4 and its best operating conditions are at low pressure (<2 bar), low feed composition of CO2, and near room temperature using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) method.