Development of O 2 Enrichment TSA Using Honeycomb Rotor-Supported Carbon Molecular Sieves

A rotary-type Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA) process employing a carbon molecular sieve (CMS) honeycomb rotor with a cyclic regenerative configuration was developed for oxygen enrichment driven by low-grade waste heat (393 K). The CMS, distinguished by its hydrophobicity and diffusion-selective adsorption, was selected to mitigate performance degradation under humid conditions. The effective thermal conductivity of the CMS honeycomb was evaluated by a steady-state method, and the adsorption–desorption kinetics of O 2 and N 2 were analyzed using a linear driving force (LDF) model. The model accurately reproduced the experimental data, and the bench-scale prototype attained 25% O 2 -enriched air, consistent with simulations predicting 25% under optimized flow conditions. A scale-up analysis for a 600 Nm 3 /h combustion furnace indicated that optimization of regeneration and cooling conditions could reduce the required rotor volume to approximately 4.0 m 3 /MW, although this value remains higher than the industrial design target (∼2.3 m 3 /MW). This result should be regarded as a preliminary estimate, and further reduction in rotor volume is expected through integrated optimization of CMS material properties and process conditions.