For the purpose of reducing carbon emissions, carbon capture technology is being used for diverse industries. The carbon capture technology consists of CO₂ capture process and solvent regeneration process mainly using an absorbent like 30 wt% monoethanolamine (MEA). The energy used for the regeneration process is known to be the most crucial cost for the gas processing unit.

Nanoparticle is suitable for improving the efficiency without affecting the final composition of the absorbent, since it can enhance the performance of the absorbent by adding small amount. The addition of the nanoparticle can enhance the mass transfer and the heat transfer by bubble breaking effect, surface effect, thermal effect and shuttle & boundary mixing affect. Catalytic nanoparticles like metal oxide nanoparticle can increase the desorption rate by weakening the N-C bond in the carbamate. The enhancement effect can be different depending on the base fluid, type of nanoparticle and concentration.

In this study, the CO₂ absorption and desorption performance were evaluated using a laboratory-scale CO₂ screening apparatus for absorbents with different nanoparticles. The absorption experiment was conducted at 313 K, injecting 4 vol% CO₂ (N₂ balance). The desorption experiment was conducted at 353 K, injecting pure N₂ gas for analyzing CO₂ concentration of the gas. And some physical properties like vapor pressure and viscosity were measured to verify the suitability of solvent in the real CO₂ capture process. All of the data were compared with 30 wt% MEA and the base fluid without nanoparticles to check for enhancements in performance. The study on the effects of nanoparticle addition is expected to be useful for further improvement in the performance of developed absorbents.

Keywords: Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Capture, Absorbent Solution, Nanoparticle, Nanofluid

Reference:

[1] Lai, Qinghua, et al. "Low-energy-consumption and environmentally friendly CO2 capture via blending alcohols into amine solution." Applied Energy 254 (2019): 113696.

[2] Wang, Tao, et al. "Enhanced CO2 absorption and desorption by monoethanolamine (MEA)-based nanoparticle suspensions." Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 55.28 (2016): 7830-7838.