Experimental Studies of CO2 Capturing from the Flue Gases

Abstract

CO₂ emissions from combustion flue gases have turned into a major factor in global warming. Post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) from industrial utility flue gases by reactive absorption can substantially reduce the emissions of the greenhouse gas CO₂. To test a new solvent (AIT600) for this purpose, a small pilot plant was used. This paper presents the results of studies on chemical methods of absorbing CO₂ from flue gases with the new solvent, and evaluates the effects of operating conditions on CO₂ absorption efficiency. CO₂ removal rate of the AIT600 solvent was higher in comparison to the conventional monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent. The optimized temperature of the absorber column was 60 °C for CO₂ absorption in this pilot plant. The overall absorption rate (<em>Φ</em>) and the volumetric overall mass transfer coefficient (<em>K_Ga_V</em>) were also investigated.