Adsorption of CO2 and H2 on the polymer-based membrane from High-density Polyethylene (HDPE) Plastic

High-density polyethylene (HDPE), a widely used polymer globally, notably found in plastic bags, presents an environmental concern due to its non-biodegradable nature. Transforming non-biodegradable HDPE waste into a valuable resource presents a formidable ecological challenge. This research aims to study CO2 and H2 gases toward HDPE-based membranes through the adsorption process with pressure and temperature variation. The highest CO2 and H2 adsorption capacities of 14.19 mmol.g−1 (62.43 %wt) and 18.04 mmol.g−1 (3.61 %wt) were obtained by pressure feeding 3 bars at 30°C. The adsorption capacity decrease as the temperature increase. At an adsorption temperature of 50°C, the adsorption capacity of CO2 and H2 decrease, respectively by 75.86% and 69.81%. The adsorption kinetics were evaluated using pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and intraparticle diffusion models. The kinetic study shows that adsorption at 30°C follows the pseudo-second order. The adsorption at elevated temperatures reveals the intraparticle diffusion mechanism, indicating that the gas is adsorbed directly into the polymer matrix. Thermodynamic results include enthalpy of adsorption (ΔH), standard entropy of adsorption (ΔS), energy Gibbs (ΔG), and energy activation (Ea). ΔH CO2 and H2 are -22.339 and -23.654 kJ mol−1, respectively, which indicates that the process is exothermic and physisorption. The ΔS value shows that the irregularity and randomness of gas movement during the adsorption process, with the respective values for CO2 and H2 are -0.069 and -0.072 kJ mol−1 K−1, respectively. ΔG for adsorption of CO2 and H2 with increasing temperature becomes less spontaneous, which results in decreased adsorption capacity. Ea of CO2 is greater than H2, so the adsorption capacity of CO2 is smaller than H2. The thermodynamic study shows that the adsorption process is preferable at lower temperatures.