(602bl) Preparation of MgO Nanoparticles and Its Utilization for CO2 Chemisorption

The increased CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere due to emissions of CO₂ from the utilization of fossil fuels including coal has caused serious concerns for global warming. Of the available CO₂ emission reduction options, CO₂ capture and sequestration has been identified to be the most effective one. In regards to this, development of solid adsorbents to capture the CO₂ at elevated temperature-pressure, as well as atmospheric temperature-pressure, from the natural gas and flue gas effluent has got considerable attention. In the present study, MgO nanoparticles were synthesized and utilized for the adsorption of CO₂ at three different temperatures of 30 °C, 100 °C and 250 °C. The effect of preparation conditions such as surfactant concentration, effect of presence of ultrasound, type of precipitating agent and the precursor concentration on the crystalline sizes and the surface area of the MgO nanoparticles and their subsequent effect on the CO₂ adsorption capacity were studied. Preliminary results showed that the prepared nanoparticles have significant CO₂ adsorption capacities. The prepared material was characterized by nitrogen adsorption–desorption (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).