Both selectivity and capacity of CO2 adsorption were considerably increased when PZ (piperazine) was added in MDEA (methyldiethylamine) that used to modify the surface of silica gels. The adsorbent saturated with CO2 was regenerated at ambient temperature through nitrogen purge. A set of PSA (pressure swing adsorption) operation with 200 cycles was carried out and applicability of the modified adsorbent was thus illustrated. The CO2 content in the column-top stream decreased from 13% to below 0.05% at steady state. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.