Effect of the Pore Size of Microfilters in Supercritical CO₂ Bubbling on the Dissolved CO₂ Concentration

Abstract

The effect of the pore size of microfilters installed in a supercritical (SC-) CO₂ bubbling device on the concentration of CO₂ dissolved in the solution was investigated. Dissolved CO₂ concentration in the solution treated with a microfilter was approximately 27% higher than that without a microfilter for lower CO₂/sample flow ratio, whereas there was no difference in the dissolved CO₂ concentration between treatments with and without a microfilter at a higher flow ratio. Additionally, at 25MPa, the dissolved CO₂ concentration reached a maximum with a 10μm pore size microfilter. However, at 10MPa, the highest concentration of dissolved CO₂ was achieved with a 1μm pore size microfilter, and this concentration was the same as at 25MPa. Therefore, it was found that the same concentration of dissolved CO₂ could be maintained by minimizing the microfilter pore size and lowering the pressure from 25 to 10MPa.