Affecting mechanism of activation conditions on the performance of NaNO 3 ‐modified dolomite for CO 2 capture

The affecting mechanism of activation conditions on the performance of NaNO 3 ‐modified dolomites for CO 2 capture was conducted combined with the activation tests and the CO 2 absorption tests. The weight loss during activation was determined by the combined effects of the NaNO 3 content, activation temperature, and activation atmosphere, for their combined effects on the ion diffusion. Moreover, the greater weight loss during activation did not elicit a corresponding increase in CO 2 absorption ability of the activated absorbents. CO 2 absorption activity tests indicated that the sample 0.20Na‐dol activated at 500 °C in N 2 showed the best cyclic CO 2 absorption ability. The underlying mechanism was then analyzed based on the results of the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X‐ray diffraction, and Raman analysis of the absorbents. The results indicated that the different CO 2 absorption abilities might be due to the two kinds of molecular arrangements between the MgO and CaCO 3 grains obtained during activation. © 2015 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.