Microwave synthesis of Nano/Micronized zeolites from natural source: Evaluation of energy storage capacities

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 National research center, Dokki, Giza

2 national research center

Abstract

This is a comparative study to investigate the hydrogen Storage ability of three zeolites; Zeolite-A, Faujasite-NaX and Analcime, prepared via microwave technique from refined kaolin. The paper addresses the effects of crystallite size, Si/Al, pore diameter and specific surface area on the hydrogen uptake capacity. X-Ray Fluorescence is used for rock chemical analysis, X-ray Diffraction for zeolite mineralogy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy for microstructure. Whereas, Electron Dispersion Analysis monitors chemical microanalysis. Storing hydrogen is processed via Pressure, Composition and Temperature, using AMC PCI-HP 1200 equipment, meanwhile, BEL Sorb Max device (BEL JAPAN. INC) is used for specific surface area.
Result indicates that, decreasing crystallite size has positive effects on both total pore volume and specific surface area, with a net result of higher hydrogen gravimetric capacities for all structures. At 77K and 22 bar, nano- Faujasite presents the highest hydrogen uptake of 2.25 wt%, whereas, nano Analcime hosts the least amounts of hydrogen of 0.74 wt%. Despite of the effect of zeolite particle size reduction on the surface area enlargement and high adsorption capacity, the limiting factor in hydrogen uptake into zeolite porous vicinities is the diameter of the pores and the blocking effects of their channels.

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