Thermogravimetric analysis-a viable method for screening novel materials for the sorbent enhanced water-gas shift process

摘要

Pre-combustion CO2 capture technologies are becoming viable alternatives to more conventional post-combustion capture by gas emissions scrubbing. The sorbent enhanced water-gas shift (SEWGS) process is a promising future technology for CO2 capture. However, the process needs better performing materials than those available today to be competitive against state-of-the-art scrubbing technologies. Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are a promising class of materials to improve the performance of the SEWGS process. These materials have a general formula of M_(1-x)~(2+)M_x~(3+)(OH)2(A~(n-))_(x/n)·mH2O, and can be tuned by substituting the metal species, changing the M~(2+)/M~(3+) ratio, adjusting the synthesis parameters to influence morphology or by adding so-called promotors to improve performance. To aid an ongoing systematic study looking at several of these parameters we have developed a simple yet efficient way of screening materials for further in-depth studies. The method is highly suitable for a typical laboratory setting, and is based on thermogravimetric analysis combined with cyclic exposure to selected gases. In this article we present the results of applying the method to a selection of benchmark materials.