Aramid as potential solid Sorbent for CO2 capture

The escalating level of green house gases and in particular CO2 emissions is an issue of major concern because of its link to potential climate change. CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) is a promising strategy to control CO2 emission in the atmosphere. In sorption-based CO2 separation technologies, sorbent selection is very crucial. In order to mitigate the CO2 emissions, solid aramid sorbent was synthesized by a facile one pot polyamidation reaction between melamine and terephthaloyl chloride in 1,4-dioxane as the reaction medium. Aramid was probed using Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and pore size analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy and CO2 adsorption measurements. CO2 adsorption capacity of aramid was determined at temperatures of 273 and 298 K at a pressure of 1 bar. The polymeric material displayed the highest CO2 uptake equal to 2.01 cm3/g at 273 K relative to 1.46 cm3/g at 298 K and at 1 bar respectively. The results revealed that aramid is capable of capturing CO2, thus acting as a promising CO2 scavenger in severe environment.