Designing a lab-scale apparatus for reclaiming amines

Abstract

Reactive absorption in amines stands as a mature and economically viable technology for CO2 capture in industrial processes. However, the efficiency of this method declines over time due to the degradation of the amine solvent, necessitating reclaiming processes to maintain performance. This thesis investigates amine reclaiming technologies by employing a wide range of scientific papers and focuses on developing a lab-scale apparatus for efficient amine reclamation. Among thermal, electrodialysis (ED) and ion exchange technologies, electrodialysis emerges as an appropriate option, particularly when targeting heat stable salts (HSS) removal. It has lower energy demand than thermal reclamation and lower maintenance and chemical costs in comparison with ion exchange. Additionally, it has high HSS removal efficiency and low amine loss. By investigating the ED configurations, the suggested lab-scale ED design, which has the flexibility to be used under the laboratory hood, is presented. It is a two-stage ED unit with C-A and BP-A stack configurations. This apparatus demonstrates significant HSS removal efficiency, reaching over 96%, while minimizing amine loss to less than 4% after approximately 6 hours of operation. By increasing operation time, cell pairs, HSS concentrations, and current intensity, along with the use of reinforced homogeneous membranes with moderate thickness, this apparatus can be optimized. A cost analysis for this apparatus estimates an investment of $ 24,365.43 with yearly fixed costs of $ 4,364.99.

Reactive absorption in amines stands as a mature and economically viable technology for CO2 capture in industrial processes. However, the efficiency of this method declines over time due to the degradation of the amine solvent, necessitating reclaiming processes to maintain performance. This thesis investigates amine reclaiming technologies by employing a wide range of scientific papers and focuses on developing a lab-scale apparatus for efficient amine reclamation. Among thermal, electrodialysis (ED) and ion exchange technologies, electrodialysis emerges as an appropriate option, particularly when targeting heat stable salts (HSS) removal. It has lower energy demand than thermal reclamation and lower maintenance and chemical costs in comparison with ion exchange. Additionally, it has high HSS removal efficiency and low amine loss. By investigating the ED configurations, the suggested lab-scale ED design, which has the flexibility to be used under the laboratory hood, is presented. It is a two-stage ED unit with C-A and BP-A stack configurations. This apparatus demonstrates significant HSS removal efficiency, reaching over 96%, while minimizing amine loss to less than 4% after approximately 6 hours of operation. By increasing operation time, cell pairs, HSS concentrations, and current intensity, along with the use of reinforced homogeneous membranes with moderate thickness, this apparatus can be optimized. A cost analysis for this apparatus estimates an investment of $ 24,365.43 with yearly fixed costs of $ 4,364.99.