In this study, an amine polycarboxylate ionic liquid
with multiple
absorption sites, named [P4442]2[IDA], was selected
to synthesize a new type of solid adsorbent for CO2 capture
with a modified clay mineral AT (attapulgite). A series of experiments
of the synthesized adsorbents were performed using a TGA instrument
at atmospheric pressure. Different [P4442]2[IDA]
loadings and temperatures were evaluated in the CO2 adsorption
process, and the maximal amount of CO2 adsorbed on the
adsorbent was 1.531 mmol/g with [P4442]2[IDA]
loading of 30% at a temperature of 303 K. Note that, after the [P4442]2[IDA] molecules were impregnated onto the
modified AT carrier, the utilization efficiency of [P4442]2[IDA] increased nearly three times, compared with pure
[P4442]2[IDA]; this result also indicates that
the cost of CO2 capture by ionic liquid is reduced by this
method. Moreover, multiple analysis methods were used to analyze the
composition and the structure of the adsorbent. The experimental data
obtained from the CO2 adsorption process were fitted by
two different isotherm models and three different kinetic models;
the excellent fit of the Freundlich isotherm model and Avrami’s
kinetic model indicates that CO2 capture by this adsorbent
is the process which dominated by chemical adsorption and coexists
with physical adsorption. In addition, the amount of CO2 adsorbed was only little slightly reduced after ten cycles, exhibiting
excellent cyclic adsorption performance which is due to the stability
of the bond between the [P4442]2[IDA] molecules
and the modified AT carrier, as well as the extremely low volatility
of the ionic liquid.