Adsorbent Testing and Mathematical Modeling of a Solid Amine Regenerative CO ₂ & H ₂ O Removal System

A solid amine based Regenerative CO₂ Removal System (RCRS) has been selected by NASA/JSC for extended Orbiter missions. To better understand the performance of solid amine, a bench scale solid amine test stand was built at JSC. The core of the test stand is a 1″ diameter by 3″ long adsorption bed, which was packed with solid amine adsorbent along with a heat transfer material, Duocel. The test bed was designed for evaluating mass and heat transfer performance of the solid amine system under various operating conditions. The paper will discuss the design and construction details of the test bed, as well as test results, including adsorption breakthrough, adsorption and desorption of CO₂ and H₂O vapor.

A model for predicting the performance of regenerative CO₂ and H₂O vapor adsorption of the solid amine system under various operating conditions has been developed in parallel with the testing of the solid amine test stand. The coefficient for mass transfer, calculated from test results, was used in the model. The mathematical model of the adsorption and desorption sections of the system will be discussed. Comparison between test data and the simulation results will be presented.