The use of TiO2 nanoparticles to enhance CO2 absorption

The enhancement of absorption of CO2 by propylene carbonate in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles was investigated. The influences of solids loading and particle size of TiO2 nanoparticles on the absorption rate were studied experimentally. The results show that the gas absorption rate can be enhanced significantly in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles. The CO2 absorption enhancement factor firstly increases and then decreases with the increases of solids loadings, which proves the existence of optimal solids loading. The particle size is also a main factor, which affects CO2 absorption enhancement factor. As the particle size increases, the optimal solids loading gradually increases. A three-dimensional instantaneous numerous particle di-mechanism model based on the shuttle mechanism as well as a micro-convection mechanism was developed. The results calculated by the model are close to the experimental results, which showed the model can predict experimental data very well. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.