{ "id": "ep40yahy1f", "slug": "temperature-swing-adsorption", "title": "Temperature swing adsorption", "updated": "2026-10-15", "topic_path": [ { "id": "technology", "label": "Technology and the built world", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology" }, { "id": "technology.engineering", "label": "Engineering and manufacturing", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology.engineering" }, { "id": "technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical", "label": "Chemical, biochemical, and biomedical engineering", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical" }, { "id": "technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical.adsorption-and-gas-separation-methods", "label": "Adsorption and gas separation methods", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical.adsorption-and-gas-separation-methods" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical", "label": "Non-geographic · 1946 to 2000: Chemical, biochemical, and biomedical engineering", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical", "path": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo", "label": "Non-geographic", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946", "label": "Non-geographic · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.technology", "label": "Technology and the built world", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.technology" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.technology.engineering", "label": "Engineering and manufacturing", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.technology.engineering" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical", "label": "Chemical, biochemical, and biomedical engineering", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Temperature swing adsorption (TSA) is a cyclic separation process that captures a gas on a solid adsorbent at low temperature and releases it by heating, used for CO2 capture.", "snippet": "Temperature swing adsorption (TSA) is a cyclic separation process that captures a gas on a solid adsorbent at low temperature and releases it by heating, used for CO2 capture.", "node": "technology.engineering.engineering.chemical.biomedical.adsorption-and-gas-separation-methods", "markdown": "# Temperature swing adsorption\n\nTemperature swing adsorption (TSA) is a cyclic separation process that captures a gas on a solid adsorbent at low temperature and releases it by heating the adsorbent. Because adsorption capacity falls as temperature rises, the swing between a cold adsorption step and a hot desorption step creates a working capacity, \\( n_{\\mathrm{ads}} - n_{\\mathrm{des}} \\), the difference between loadings at the feed temperature and the regeneration temperature at the working pressure.[1](https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2018/march/characterizing-adsorbents-gas-separations) TSA is used for trace-contaminant removal[2](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7128776.html) and CO2 capture;[3](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2026/ya/d5ya00336a) temperature–vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA), its combination with vacuum, is described as the most mature direct air capture (DAC) process design and is deployed at commercial scale in its steam-assisted configuration.[3](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2026/ya/d5ya00336a) Regeneration temperatures range from 40 to 400 °C, with 200 °C typical.[2](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7128776.html) An indirect-heating TSA process has captured CO2 from flue gas at 95% purity and 81% recovery using 3.2 MJ per kg CO2.[4](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.05.036)\n\n| Key fact | Value |\n| --- | --- |\n| Working capacity | \\( n_{\\mathrm{ads}} - n_{\\mathrm{des}} \\), uptake difference between feed and regeneration temperatures [1](https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2018/march/characterizing-adsorbents-gas-separations) |\n| Regeneration temperature | 40–400 °C generally; 200 °C typical [2](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7128776.html) |\n| Indirect TSA, 5A zeolite, flue gas | 95% purity, 81% recovery, 3.2 MJ/kg CO2, 58 g CO2 per kg adsorbent per hour [4](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.05.036) |\n| Electrically driven TSA (ETSA) | 90–110 °C within about 1 minute; ~7.2 GJ per t CO2 Joule heat at full scale [5](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.05.016) |\n| Steam-assisted TVSA DAC pilot | 1.3 kg CO2 per day at 14.5 MJ per kg CO2 [6](https://pubs.rsc.org/zh-hans/content/articlehtml/2024/re/d3re00460k) |\n| Rotary steam-assisted TSA DAC | ~36 min cycle, 98% purity, 7.41–9.64 MJ per kg CO2 with heat recovery [7](https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202521499) |\n| Energy share of steam purge | Nearly 99% of specific energy in a 4-step steam-purge TSA cycle [8](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c04957) |\n\n## How it works\n\nAdsorbents hold gas molecules by physical adsorption or by chemisorption, and in both cases the equilibrium loading at a given partial pressure decreases as temperature increases. On 5A zeolite at a CO2 partial pressure of 0.1 bar the adsorbed amount is around 2 mol/kg, and the Langmuir model \\( q = q_{m}K \\cdot P/(1+K \\cdot P) \\) with \\( K = K_{0}\\exp(Q/RT) \\) represents the isotherms well; the exponential term makes the equilibrium constant, and therefore the loading, fall sharply on heating.[9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750583609000437) The cycle exploits this: adsorption at the cold end of the swing loads the bed, heating shifts the equilibrium and releases the gas, and the difference between the two loadings is the working capacity.[1](https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2018/march/characterizing-adsorbents-gas-separations)\n\nHigher heats of adsorption work against TSA, because more energy is needed to regenerate the adsorbent; the isosteric heat \\( q_{i} \\) is obtained from isotherms measured at two or more temperatures through a Clausius–Clapeyron-type relationship with slope \\( q_{i}/R \\).[1](https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2018/march/characterizing-adsorbents-gas-separations) During heating, the bed energy balance couples the bed heat capacity, the adsorption enthalpy released or absorbed as loadings change, and heat transfer from the heating fluid: \\( C_{p,b}\\frac{dT}{dt} - \\rho_{b}\\sum_{i}(-\\Delta H_{i})\\frac{dn_{i}}{dt} = U \\cdot S(T_{heat}-T) \\).[10](https://idaes-pse.readthedocs.io/en/stable/reference%5Fguides/model%5Flibraries/models%5Fextra/temperature%5Fswing%5Fadsorption/fixed%5Fbed%5Ftsa0d.html)\n\n## How it is done\n\nIn a simple TSA system two adsorbent beds operate in parallel, one adsorbing while the other is regenerated.[11](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7799117.html) A widely used shortcut model formulates the steps as heating, cooling, pressurization, and adsorption.[10](https://idaes-pse.readthedocs.io/en/stable/reference%5Fguides/model%5Flibraries/models%5Fextra/temperature%5Fswing%5Fadsorption/fixed%5Fbed%5Ftsa0d.html) The hot regeneration gas is generally 100 to 300 °C hotter than the feed gas, and a cooling step follows desorption.[11](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7799117.html)\n\nHeat recovery dominates the economics of the cycle. Recovering heat between the cooling and heating beds requires at least three beds, with the cooling-bed effluent used as feed gas for the heating bed.[11](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7799117.html) Where steam is the purge medium, nearly 99% of the specific energy consumption of a four-step cycle comes from steam generation.[8](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c04957) In steam-assisted TVSA for DAC the cycle has five steps: adsorption, evacuation, heating, desorption, and cooling, with evacuation removing oxygen before heating to protect amine groups.[6](https://pubs.rsc.org/zh-hans/content/articlehtml/2024/re/d3re00460k)\n\n## Origin\n\nTSA systems for contaminant removal were already taught in prior art cited across six earlier US and EP patents, indicating an established commercial process.[2](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7128776.html) The variant with indirect cooling and heating through an internal heat exchanger was reported by Jocelyn Bonjour, Jean-Bertrand Chalfen, and Francis Meunier in 2002 in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, with experimental results from a rapid heat exchanger for both duties.[12](https://doi.org/10.1021/ie011011j) J. Mérel, M. Clausse, and F. Meunier applied indirect thermal swing adsorption with 13X zeolite to post-combustion CO2 capture in 2006 in Environmental Progress,[13](https://doi.org/10.1002/ep.10166) followed by a numerical parametric study by Marc Clausse, Jérôme Merel, and Francis Meunier in 2011.[4](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.05.036) An equilibrium-based shortcut model of the four-step cycle, giving a semi-analytical solution of the cyclic steady state, was reported by Lisa Joss, Matteo Gazzani, Max Hefti, Dorian Marx, and Marco Mazzotti in 2015 in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research; it builds on the equilibrium theory of pressure swing adsorption developed by Yau Nam I. Chan, Frank B. Hill, and Yiu Wah Wong in 1981 in Chemical Engineering Science.[14](https://doi.org/10.1021/ie5048829) • [15](https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2509%2881%2985002-6)\n\n## Variants\n\n**TVSA and PTSA** add vacuum, or combined pressure and temperature, to the swing. A TVSA pilot plant separating CO2 from flue gas at 1000 Nm3/h, with adsorption at atmospheric pressure and desorption at 50–100 mbar and 50–100 °C used steam heating of the towers, which reduced electric power consumption by about 11%.[9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750583609000437) **ETSA** delivers Joule heat directly to the adsorbent, reaching CO2 regeneration temperatures of 90–110 °C within about 1 minute and releasing 95% of sorbed CO2 in 10 minutes, six times faster than external heating; the variant has been reviewed for gas separation[16](https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2014.915854) and for electric-heating advances,[17](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2024.128522) and has been applied to CO2 capture from flue gas on a carbon monolith.[9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750583609000437) **Steam-assisted TVSA** uses steam purge, which enables rapid and complete desorption and increases CO2 released per cycle.[6](https://pubs.rsc.org/zh-hans/content/articlehtml/2024/re/d3re00460k) **Rotary TSA** rotates an adsorbent wheel continuously between zones; a rotary DAC prototype completes each adsorption–desorption cycle in about 36 minutes.[7](https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202521499) **Fluidized and circulating fluidized bed TSA** move the sorbent between columns; modeled multistage fluidized TSA needs only 5 adsorption stages and one desorption stage to extract CO2 from 15% v/v flue gas to 0.5% v/v while recovering it at 95% v/v purity.[18](https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aic.16029) • [19](https://psecommunity.org/wp-content/plugins/wpor/includes/file/2506/LAPSE-2025.0339-1v1.pdf) Sorbent formats include hollow fiber adsorbents, reported in 2011 by Ryan P. Lively and colleagues as earlier work that fiber sorbents for rapid cycling build on,[20](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2011.01.004) diamine-appended metal-organic frameworks with cooperative CO2 insertion reported by Thomas M. McDonald and colleagues in 2015,[21](https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14327) and an ethylenediamine-grafted Y zeolite reported by Chaehoon Kim and colleagues in 2016 as highly regenerable via TSA without urea formation.[22](https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ee00601a)\n\n## Applications\n\nTVSA is described as the most mature DAC process design, deployed at commercial scale particularly in its steam-assisted configuration.[3](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2026/ya/d5ya00336a) Compact kg-scale DAC pilots use Lewatit VP OC 1065, a polystyrene-divinylbenzene resin with primary benzylamine groups,[6](https://pubs.rsc.org/zh-hans/content/articlehtml/2024/re/d3re00460k) and rotary steam-assisted prototypes have demonstrated 98% purity CO2.[7](https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202521499) TVSA can run on low-grade heat: HVAC condensation heat near 323 K, solar thermal or solar district heating at 348 K, or heat-pump-raised condenser water at 373 K.[23](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10172838/1/1-s2.0-S0959652623018899-main.pdf) Modeling identifies the pre-heating step needed to meet the O2 purity specification as the critical bottleneck in both wall-heated and steam-assisted TVSA, with steam-assisted configurations reaching productivities up to 180 kg CO2 per m3 per day within 30 MJ per kg CO2 equivalent work.[3](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2026/ya/d5ya00336a)\n\n## Limitations and alternatives\n\nFixed-bed TSA has two structural drawbacks: energy consumed heating and cooling the bed, and a large footprint and adsorbent inventory to handle large flow rates, giving low productivity; regeneration by hot gas purge also dilutes the desorbate, because gases' low heat capacity requires large gas volumes.[4](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.05.036) • [9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750583609000437) Water in the feed dramatically reduces CO2 capacity through strong competition, so flue gas must be pre-dried before zeolitic TSA, with drying credited at 8 MJ per kg of water removed.[4](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.05.036) • [18](https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aic.16029) Amine sorbents degrade oxidatively noticeably above about 70 °C, which is why oxygen is evacuated before heating;[6](https://pubs.rsc.org/zh-hans/content/articlehtml/2024/re/d3re00460k) a rotary TSA process study excluded capacity loss from oxygen degradation, assuming constant sorbent capacity over its lifetime.[8](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c04957)\n\nCompared with pressure swing adsorption (PSA), TSA avoids compressing or applying vacuum to large volumes of low-pressure gas, which is why it is considered more appropriate for post-combustion capture.[24](https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/305029/3/fast%20methodology_Ortega_CO2.pdf) Under DAC conditions, PSA is unfeasible because working capacity falls below 0.5 mmol/g; TSA suits concentrated CO2 production while TVSA is required for high-purity CO2.[25](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2017.10.010) Against amine absorption, up-to-date MEA processes need 2.5–3.5 MJ per kg CO2 for regeneration, and the indirect TSA process has been shown competitive with MEA.[4](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.05.036) In air separation, where TSA requires heat rather than electrical compression work for regeneration, adsorption installations are competitive with cryogenic plants only up to roughly 200–300 tons of oxygen per day.[26](https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/20/4/232) Circulating fluidized bed TSA sits between absorption technologies and fixed-bed TSA in energy efficiency, with higher compactness but limited product purity.[18](https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aic.16029)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Characterizing Adsorbents for Gas Separations (AIChE CEP, March 2018)](https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2018/march/characterizing-adsorbents-gas-separations)\n2. [Periodic high temperature regeneration of thermal swing adsorption systems (US patent, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.)](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7128776.html)\n3. [Purity-constrained TVSA modeling of Lewatit VPOC 1065 for direct air capture (RSC Energy Advances, 2026)](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2026/ya/d5ya00336a)\n4. [Marc Clausse, Jérôme Merel, Francis Meunier (2011). Numerical parametric study on CO2 capture by indirect thermal swing adsorption. International journal of greenhouse gas control.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.05.036)\n5. [Sorbent-coated carbon fibers for direct air capture using electrically driven temperature swing adsorption (Joule, 2023)](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.05.016)\n6. [Experimental study of CO2 capture from air via steam-assisted temperature-vacuum swing adsorption with a compact kg-scale pilot unit (RSC Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 2024)](https://pubs.rsc.org/zh-hans/content/articlehtml/2024/re/d3re00460k)\n7. [Rapid Steam-Assisted Temperature Swing Adsorption for Direct Air Capture Using a Rotary Adsorber, library record](https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202521499)\n8. [Simulation and Optimization of a Rotary Temperature Swing Adsorption (RTSA) Process for CO2 Capture](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c04957)\n9. [Carbon dioxide capture and recovery by means of TSA and/or VSA](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750583609000437)\n10. [Fixed Bed Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA), IDAES model documentation](https://idaes-pse.readthedocs.io/en/stable/reference%5Fguides/model%5Flibraries/models%5Fextra/temperature%5Fswing%5Fadsorption/fixed%5Fbed%5Ftsa0d.html)\n11. [Gas treatment process by temperature swing adsorption (US patent, UOP LLC)](https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7799117.html)\n12. [Jocelyn Bonjour, Jean-Bertrand Chalfen, Francis Meunier (2002). Temperature Swing Adsorption Process with Indirect Cooling and Heating. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.](https://doi.org/10.1021/ie011011j)\n13. [J. Mérel, M. Clausse, F. Meunier (2006). Carbon dioxide capture by indirect thermal swing adsorption using 13X zeolite. Environmental Progress.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ep.10166)\n14. [Lisa Joss and colleagues (2015). Temperature Swing Adsorption for the Recovery of the Heavy Component: An Equilibrium-Based Shortcut Model. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.](https://doi.org/10.1021/ie5048829)\n15. [Equilibrium theory of a pressure swing adsorption process (Chemical Engineering Science, 1981)](https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2509%2881%2985002-6)\n16. [R. P. P. L. Ribeiro, C. A. Grande, A. E. Rodrigues (2014). Electric Swing Adsorption for Gas Separation and Purification: A Review. Separation Science and Technology.](https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2014.915854)\n17. [Brieuc Verougstraete and colleagues (2024). Advancements and challenges in electric heating for enhanced temperature swing adsorption processes. Separation and Purification Technology.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2024.128522)\n18. [Modeling of circulating fluidized beds systems for post-combustion CO2 capture via temperature swing adsorption (AIChE Journal, 2018)](https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aic.16029)\n19. [Modeling, Simulation and Optimization of a Carbon Capture Process Through a TSA Column (LAPSE, 2025)](https://psecommunity.org/wp-content/plugins/wpor/includes/file/2506/LAPSE-2025.0339-1v1.pdf)\n20. [Ryan P. Lively and colleagues (2011). Hollow fiber adsorbents for CO2 capture: Kinetic sorption performance. Chemical Engineering Journal.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2011.01.004)\n21. [Thomas M. McDonald and colleagues (2015). Cooperative insertion of CO2 in diamine-appended metal-organic frameworks. Nature.](https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14327)\n22. [Chaehoon Kim and colleagues (2016). An ethylenediamine-grafted Y zeolite: a highly regenerable carbon dioxide adsorbent via temperature swing adsorption without urea formation. Energy & Environmental Science.](https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ee00601a)\n23. [Temperature-vacuum swing adsorption for direct air capture by using low-grade heat (Journal of Cleaner Production, 2023, UCL repository copy)](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10172838/1/1-s2.0-S0959652623018899-main.pdf)\n24. [A new methodology for evaluating commercial adsorbents for CO2 capture using TSA (TGA/DSC screening, CSIC repository)](https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/305029/3/fast%20methodology_Ortega_CO2.pdf)\n25. [Jere Elfving and colleagues (2017). Modelling of equilibrium working capacity of PSA, TSA and TVSA processes for CO 2 adsorption under direct air capture conditions. Journal of CO2 Utilization.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2017.10.010)\n26. [Energy Consumption of Air-Separation Adsorption Methods (Entropy)](https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/20/4/232)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineering and manufacturing › Chemical, biochemical, and biomedical engineering › Adsorption and gas separation methods*\n\n*Initially written Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/temperature-swing-adsorption", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/temperature-swing-adsorption.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Temperature swing adsorption\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/temperature-swing-adsorption. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Temperature swing adsorption](https://www.edgepedia.org/temperature-swing-adsorption)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/temperature-swing-adsorption](https://www.edgepedia.org/temperature-swing-adsorption). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Temperature swing adsorption\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/temperature-swing-adsorption. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Temperature swing adsorption is a cyclic separation process that captures a gas on a solid adsorbent at low temperature and releases it by heating, used for CO2 capture." }