Oxidative degradation of aminosilica adsorbents relevant to postcombustion CO₂ capture

Coal-fired power plant flue gas exhaust typically contains 3-10% oxygen. While it is known that the monoethanolamine (MEA) oxidative degradation rate is a critical parameter affecting liquid amine absorption processes, the effect of oxygen on the stability of solid amine adsorbents remains unexplored. Here, oxidative degradation of aminosilica materials is studied under accelerated oxidizing conditions to assess the stability of different supported amine structures to oxidizing conditions. Adsorbents constructed using four different silane coupling agents are evaluated, three with a single primary, secondary, or tertiary amine at the end of a propyl surface linker, with the fourth having one secondary propylamine separated from a primary amine by an ethyl linker. Under the experimental conditions used in this study, it was found that both amine type and proximity had a significant effect on oxidative degradation rates. In particular, the supported primary and tertiary amines proved to be stable to the oxidizing conditions used, whereas the secondary amines degraded at elevated treatment temperatures. Because secondary amines are important components of many supported amine adsorbents, it is suggested that the oxidative stability of such species needs to be carefully considered in assessments of postcombustion CO₂ capture processes based on supported amines.