Use of Chabazite zeolite for CO₂ removal in controlled system

Full text: Biogas is a renewable fuel produced from the anaerobic digestion of biomass (organic waste) in landfills, consisting basically of methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). A change in biogas composition is of great importance since it increases its viability of use as biofuel. The rise of methane's percentage in the biogas, consequence of CO₂ removal can be accomplished by the adsorption technique applying porous materials such as molecular sieves. This work carried out the synthesis of chabazite (CHA) zeolite for the removal of the CO₂ contained in the biogas, through dispersion in the form of cartridges. The zeolite CHA was synthesized by hydrothermal route using as an alternative source of silicon and aluminum, coal fly ash, generated from coal burning in thermoelectric plants. Results in sets of DRX, FTIR and SEM techniques showed that the synthesized material was satisfactory, revealing its crystalline (pseudo-hexagonal) habit. Preliminary adsorption results in a controlled system of CO₂ indicate the effectiveness of the material for the removal of this gas. (author)