Muthanna Journal of Engineering and Technology
Volume (14), Issue (4), Year (2026), Pages (200-210)
DOI:10.52113/3/eng/mjet/2026-14-04-/200-210
Research Article By:
Hind Shabbani
Corresponding author E-mail:hind.shabbani@qu.edu.iq
ABSTRACT
Biogas is an emerging energy source. This work focuses on purifying biogas from CO2 utilizing modeled dynamic and rapid pressure swing adsorption RPSA mediated by ZnO@ZIF-8 composite. The model was validated against published literature showing validity of R2=0.943. four parameters (Adsorption pressure, temperature, feed flowrate, and feed composition) were studied to investigate their effect on four responses (breakthrough time, adsorption capacity, asymmetry, and front velocities) across 30 simulative runs. Adsorption pressure was shown to be the most influential across the main studied responses. The breakthrough adsorption capacity and breakthrough time increased significantly from 5.76 to 29.79 mmol/g and from 218.4 to 1125.0 s, respectively, as the pressure increased from 1 to 8 bar. On the other hand, the saturation and stoichiometric front velocities dropped by 76.4 % and 78.5 %, respectively. Furthermore, the creation of sharper and more advantageous concentration fronts is suggested by the 44.7 % decrease in curve asymmetry, showing enhanced adsorption performance and mass-transfer characteristics at higher pressures. Minimal effect was shown by feed temperature on convective transport opposite to the feed flowrate. For the duration of 14 cycles the biogas showed enhanced purity of 76.76 % compared to the feed biogas purity of 50 %. This study shows the potential of breakthrough analysis as a useful tool for optimizing cycle conditions and pressure settings in RPSA and emphasizes the significance of balancing numerous response factors.
Keywords:
biogas; unit operation; adsorption column; adsorbent composite; metal organic frameworks.