Evaluation of Mg-MOF-74 for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture through pressure swing adsorption R. Ben-Mansour, O. E. Bamidele and M. A. Habib * ,† Mechanical Engineering Department, KFUPM, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia SUMMARY This paper presents a computational study of an energy-efficient technique for post-combustion CO 2 capture using novel material, namely, Mg-MOF-74, using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) processes. A detailed one-dimensional, transient mathematical model has been formulated to include the heat and mass transfer, the pressure drop and multicomponent mass diffusion. The PSA model has been further extended by incorporating a heat regenerating process to enhance CO 2 sequestration. The heat dissipated during adsorption is stored in packed sand bed and released during desorption step for heating purpose. The model has been implemented on a MATLAB program using second-order discretization. Validation of the model was performed using a complete experimental data set for CO 2 sequestration using zeolite 13X. Simulation of the PSA experiment on fixed bed has been carried out to evaluate the capacity of Mg-MOF-74 for CO 2 capture with varying feed gas temperature of 28 and 100 °C, varying pressurization and purge times and heat regeneration. It was discovered that the PSA process with heat regeneration system might be advantageous because it achieves equivalent amount of CO 2 sequestration in fewer PSA cycles compared with PSA without heat regeneration system. Based on the simulated conditions, CO 2 recovery with Mg-MOF-74 gives high percentage purity (above 98%) for the captured CO 2 . Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY WORDS CO 2 adsorption; carbon capture; CO 2 separation; PSA; Mg-MOF-74 Correspondence *M. A. Habib, Mechanical Engineering Department, KFUPM, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia. † E-mail: mahabib@kfupm.edu.sa Received 15 May 2015; Revised 3 September 2015; Accepted 8 September 2015 1. INTRODUCTION Environmental degradation began the day man began his pursuit for better and easier living. With initial igno- rance, over the years, man’s activities continuously de- pleted his environment and atmosphere, leading to accumulated effects of global warming, melting of ice shelves, gross discomfort for inhabitants of earth and even deaths [1]. Greenhouse gases primarily consist of N 2 ,H 2 O and CO 2 in ratio 13:2:2 by weight. In gas tur- bines where air to fuel ratio is high, oxygen presents a significant portion of the flue gases. Therefore, O 2 should be considered in the flue gases. The most pre- dominant of these greenhouse gases is CO 2 because it is not only produced during burning of fuel for power generation but also during other industrial activities such as refining of oil, cement, steel and iron produc- tion; however, the bulk of flue gas generation has been suggested to be from power plants [2]. Over a long period of time, these and many other human activities have resulted in great accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, hence, the need to reduce the vol- ume of CO 2 in the atmosphere, in order to make the earth a more conducive place to live and to prevent future hazards. Some of the suggested ways of reducing CO 2 emission include reduction of coal burning, the use of alternative fuels and improvement of power plants thermodynamic efficiencies. Global Climate and Energy Project Report 2005 suggested that from economical point of view, carbon capture is a suitable option in achieving the goal of reducing CO 2 emission to the atmosphere [3]. Even though some arguments still exist about the original purpose of carbon capture [4], the method has been found suitable for reduction of CO 2 emission because it is easy to integrate into existing plants without substantial need to change the configuration/combustion technology of the plants and it is flexible to maintain. The disadvantages of this technology, however, lie in the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH Int. J. Energy Res. 2015; 39:1994–2007 Published online 6 October 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/er.3428 Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1994