(589g) Study on Rotating Packed Bed(RPB) Based CO2 Capture Process Under Lab-Scale Experimental System

There is significant demand for amine absorption-based CO₂ capture technology. However, most research to date has focused on improving absorbents within traditional packed column systems. The challenge lies in the limited space available for installing carbon capture facilities within existing industrial complexes, and this issue is even more pronounced in maritime applications, where space is highly constrained, and height restrictions apply. Therefore, the need for a more compact carbon capture technology is critical.

In this study, we investigated the utilization of a Rotating Packed Bed (RPB) module as an alternative to conventional packed column absorbers for CO₂ capture. RPB makes a high gravity to enhance gas-liquid contact, which amine solvent captures lots of carbon dioxide in the smaller space compared to the conventional packed bed. Rich-solvent pumped to the heat exchanger with the lean solvent from the stripper to increase the temperature, which reduces the regeneration energy. Finally, the stripper separates the CO₂ and amine solvent. The high-purity CO₂ is emitted to the capture system, and the lean-amine solvent is reused in the RPB absorber. A lab-scale system with a capacity of 4–6 Nm³/h was employed, and the flow rate and concentration of the feed gas were set to representative levels found in the representative refinery emissions: Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC, 15 dry %).

Using a 30 wt% MEA absorbent, we measured the approximate regeneration energy required for each concentration. Subsequently, we applied an amine-blended absorbent, named RPBSOL, and observed a 20% reduction in regeneration energy compared to MEA for FCC flue gas. Additionally, the performance of the absorbent was enhanced, with a 75% increase in CO₂ absorption rate and a 9% reduction in heat of reaction.

For future research, we are currently developing a 100 Nm³/h bench-scale facility to evaluate the performance of the scaled-up RPB process. Furthermore, we plan to conduct over 1,000 hours of demonstration testing to validate the feasibility of the process.

This work was supported by Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government (MOTIE) (No. RS-2022-KP002700 (20224C10300050)).