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Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering

ISSN 2095-0179

ISSN 2095-0187(Online)

CN 11-5981/TQ

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Front. Chem. Sci. Eng.    2021, Vol. 15 Issue (3) : 483-492    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-020-1964-3
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Integrated adsorption and absorption process for post-combustion CO2 capture
Gongkui Xiao1(), Penny Xiao2, Andrew Hoadley3, Paul Webley2
1. Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth WA 6009, Australia
2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
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Abstract

This study explored the feasibility of integrating an adsorption and solvent scrubbing process for post-combustion CO2 capture from a coal-fired power plant. This integrated process has two stages: the first is a vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) process using activated carbon as the adsorbent, and the second stage is a solvent scrubber/stripper system using monoethanolamine (30 wt-%) as the solvent. The results showed that the adsorption process could enrich CO2 in the flue gas from 12 to 50 mol-% with a CO2 recovery of >90%, and the concentrated CO2 stream fed to the solvent scrubber had a significantly lower volumetric flowrate. The increased CO2 concentration and reduced feed flow to the absorption section resulted in significant reduction in the diameter of the solvent absorber, bringing the size of the absorber from uneconomically large to readily achievable domain. In addition, the VSA process could also remove most of the oxygen initially existed in the feed gas, alleviating the downstream corrosion and degradation problems in the absorption section. The findings in this work will reduce the technical risks associated with the state-of-the art solvent absorption technology for CO2 capture and thus accelerate the deployment of such technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
Keywords vacuum swing adsorption      monoethanolamine      post-combustion      CO2 capture      integrated process     
Corresponding Author(s): Gongkui Xiao   
Just Accepted Date: 25 August 2020   Online First Date: 21 October 2020    Issue Date: 10 May 2021
 Cite this article:   
Gongkui Xiao,Penny Xiao,Andrew Hoadley, et al. Integrated adsorption and absorption process for post-combustion CO2 capture[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2021, 15(3): 483-492.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-020-1964-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2021/V15/I3/483
Fig.1  Schematic diagram of the integrated VSA/MEA process for CO2 capture.
Parameters Values
CO2 product purity ≥95 mol-%
CO2 recovery 90%
Feed conditions
P/kPa abs 100
T/K 313.15
Molar F/(kmol?h–1) 63232 (equivalent to 10000 TPD CO2)
Volumetric F/(m3?s–1) 456.62
Gas composition/mol-% CO2: 14.97, H2O: 6.47, N2: 74.82, O2: 3.74
Tab.1  Design basis—feed and product specifications
Fig.2  Simulation flow sheet of the VSA process in Aspen Adsorption.
Item I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX
A RP AD PE ↓ PE ↓ EV EV PE ↑ IDLE PE ↑
B PE ↑ IDLE PE ↑ RP AD PE ↓ PE ↓ EV EV
C PE ↓ EV EV PE ↑ IDLE PE ↑ RP AD PE ↓
Tab.2  The sequence of steps in the 3-bed VSA cycle a)
Item Description Equation
Material balance Ideal plug flow ∂(v gci)∂z+ [εi+(1−ε i)εp] ∂ci∂t+ρb ∂wi∂t=0 (1)
Momentum balance Pressure drop described by Ergun Equation ∂P ∂z=±( 150× 10− 5μg (1−εi)2( 2rpψ)2εi3 vg+1.75*10− 5Mwρg(1−εi)(2 rpψ )2εi3 vg2) (2)
LDF kinetic model Adsorption uptake rate ∂wi∂t=ki(wi*−wi) (3)
Isotherm model B.E.T. multilayer isotherm model wi=( I P1bϕ1−ϕ) ( 1− (IP 4+1) ϕIP4+ IP4ϕIP41+(b−1)ϕ−bϕ IP4+1)
b= IP2exp( I P3 Ts) ,ϕ=PiPsat, Pi=c iRTs
P sat= IP8×10IP5−IP6 IP7+Ts		 (4)
Ideal gas equation Equation of state PVi=n iRT (5)
Pump work Isentropic work W= γγ−1(R Tin)(( P out Pin)( γγ−1 )− 1) (6)
Tab.3  Governing equations in the adsorption numerical model
Column & adsorbent details Isotherm parameters
Item value Component i CO2 H2O N2 O2
Column length/m 3 IP1 2.15E–03 5.85E–04 7.21E–03 2.58E–03
Internal diameter/m 8 IP2 6.52 0.06 1.04E–03 0.02
Bulk density/(kg?m3) 548 IP3 94.25 1748.51 1854.84 5.26E–05
Inter-particle porosity 0.42 IP4 3.04 33.50 0.56 1.04
Intra-particle porosity 0.32 IP5 3.88 5.33 1.51 6.13
Particle radius/m 0.002 IP6 1203.36 2334.90 2.45E–06 5382.12
Shape factor 0.86 IP7 2.72E–09 5.09E–06 0.22 482.99
Ads heat capacity/(J?kg–1?K–1) 1000 IP8 3.75 5.56 0.22 0.73
Tab.4  Main parameters used in simulations
Pfeed/kPa Pvac/kPa CO2 waste (wet)/mol-% CO2 product (wet)/mol-% CO2 rec./% Electric power /(MJe?kg–1) Productivity
/(kg CO2?h–1?kg–1 ads)
110 5 1.1 50.0 92.5 0.578 0.090
10 1.1 41.2 96.4 0.508 0.080
15 1.1 34.2 96.5 0.477 0.067
5 2.1 52.6 87.6 0.544 0.089
10 2.0 44.5 90.3 0.482 0.080
15 2.0 37.2 92.8 0.451 0.069
5 2.9 54.0 83.3 0.538 0.086
10 3.0 46.1 85.4 0.464 0.078
15 3.0 38.7 87.3 0.431 0.068
130 5 0.9 48.5 95.3 0.620 0.103
10 1.0 44.5 95.4 0.575 0.097
15 0.9 34.8 98.7 0.522 0.079
5 2.1 54.4 87.6 0.636 0.103
10 2.0 47.7 90.2 0.554 0.097
15 1.9 39.0 93.3 0.505 0.041
5 3.0 56.3 81.1 0.649 0.099
10 3.1 50.0 85.5 0.542 0.096
15 3.1 42.3 86.3 0.493 0.083
150 5 1.1 52.5 93.2 0.773 0.124
10 1.1 44.4 96.5 0.842 0.112
15 1.1 39.3 98.3 0.876 0.109
5 2.0 56.6 84.7 0.659 0.111
10 1.8 48.8 92.1 0.659 0.113
15 2.1 42.5 92.9 0.675 0.112
5 3.0 56.9 76.0 0.615 0.097
10 2.9 53.6 86.3 0.606 0.098
15 2.8 45.4 88.98 0.615 0.099
Tab.5  Simulation results for performance of the VSA section
Item CO2 H2O N2 Power
Purity Recovery Purity Recovery Purity Recovery
A 4.18E–02 –5.15E–04 5.37E–02 1.38E–01 –4.99E–02 –5.35E–02 3.00E–01
B 7.56E–03 1.40E–02 1.61E–03 1.18E–02 5.00E–03 1.77E–03 5.67E–03
C –1.65E–02 1.17E–02 2.28E–03 5.03E–02 1.95E–02 2.12E–02 –6.30E–03
D –1.01E–02 –5.93E–03 –2.49E–03 4.15E–03 8.05E–03 8.07E–03 2.32E–02
E –3.00E–05 –5.27E–05 –1.34E–06 –3.14E–05 –2.03E–05 –6.26E–06 –3.57E–06
F –3.16E–04 –5.97E–04 1.29E–04 –8.27E–05 1.18E–04 4.32E–04 3.94E–04
G 2.71E–04 –3.36E–04 –1.75E–04 –1.17E–03 –2.56E–04 6.38E–06 –2.70E–03
H 7.63E–05 2.53E–05 –7.62E–05 –3.37E–04 –3.32E–05 –1.05E–04 –1.54E–04
I –4.22E–04 1.11E–03 –1.13E–03 –6.07E–03 1.22E–03 –1.48E–03 6.07E–03
Tab.6  Regressed coefficients for the quadratic response surface method a)
Fig.3  Variation of inlet flow and diameter as a function of CO2 percentage.
Fig.4  Variation of O2 flowrate and concentration with the enrichment of CO2 in the feed.
Fig.5  Effect of CO2 feed concentration on the MEA make-up rate.
Fig.6  Effect of overall CO2 recovery on the total energy consumption.
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