Post-combustion CO2 Capture from CI Engine Using Adsorbents: A Comparative Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Global warming and climate change are the main culprits of our environment. These consequences are caused by the rapid increase of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Carbon Capture and Storage is an effective way to abate CO2 emissions emitted by fossil fuel burning. Post-combustion carbon capture is the most mature and well-recognized process used for existing retrofit systems. At the first step, biomass of eucalyptus wood and coconut shell are used as raw materials to produce activated carbon samples using a single-stage activation method. During the second step, activated carbon samples are characterized by using various analytical and characterization techniques to determine their physical, chemical, surface, textural, and morphological characteristics and adsorption properties. These characteristics and properties ensure that adsorbents are suitable for carbon capture via physical adsorption. In the third step, characterized adsorbent samples are loaded one by one in an in-house fabricated capture unit and coupled to the exhaust of a diesel engine. Test fuels used to run the engine: (i) petro-diesel (D100) and (ii) 80 % Jatropha methyl ester (JME) + 20 % D100 (JME20). Experiments are carried out by varying the quantities of adsorbent samples at different load conditions. At maximum load, CO2 emissions are significantly reduced by 24% and 18% for eucalyptus wood and coconut shell adsorbents, respectively, during D100 operation. At maximum load, CO2 emissions are significantly decreased by 20%and 16%for eucalyptus wood and coconut shell adsorbents, respectively, during JME20 operation. At maximum load, NO emissions are significantly reduced by 25% and 20% for eucalyptus wood and coconut shell adsorbents, respectively, during D100 operation. At maximum load, NO emissions are significantly decreased by 24% and 18% for eucalyptus wood and coconut shell adsorbents, respectively, during JME20 operation. Experimental results reveal that adsorbents capture CO2 and NO emissions from diesel engine exhaust.