DMXTM Demonstrator for CO2 Capture: First Results of Experimental Campaign

Abstract

Abstract 3D Project, standing for DMX™ Demonstration Dunkirk, is a European funded project to demonstrate an innovative CO2 capture process at semi-industrial scale: DMX™. The 11 partners of this project gathered their forces to demonstrate the capture process and to study the CCS chain (capture, transport and Storage) allowing to decrease the CO2 emissions from industries (steel mills, refineries, waste-to-energy plants etc). Objectives/Scope Carbon capture is due to play a fundamental rote in achieving Net Zero Emissions scenario in 2050. Amine scrubbing is considered nowadays a suitable technology for the sectors with large-fixed CO2 emissions due to its robustness, adaptability, and capability of producing a highly concentrated CO2 stream, suitable to be transported. Four main challenges need to be addressed for the industrial deployment of this technology: process footprint reduction, process energy penalty reduction, solvent and VOC emission limitation and long-term process stability. Some challenges can be addressed through solvent formulation and process configuration. IFPEN has developed a novel solvent and process configuration, the DMX™ process, showing promising results in terms of energy consumption and process stability. This work aims at the demonstration of the DMX™ process by means of a set of experimental campaigns with a demonstration plant treating real gases in the frame of H2020 funded project called 3D (grant agreement n° 838031). The demonstration plant is installed in the Steel Mill of ArcelorMittal Dunkirk and will absorb CO2 present in the blast furnaces gases. The design and construction of the unit is realized under the supervision of Axens. The demonstration plant is operated by a mixed team from IFPEN and TotalEnergies. Methods, Procedures, Process The DMXTM technology is a CO2 chemical absorption process involving a demixing solvent. This process consists in the continuous operation of two sections: 1) the absorption section, in which the CO2 is captured by the lean solvent, and 2) the regeneration section, in which the rich solvent is thermally stripped from the CO2 and recirculated to the absorption section. The particularity of this process is the solvent demixing in the regeneration section. Only the CO2 rich aqueous stream is thermally stripped. In addition, since the regeneration of the solvent can be performed at a relative high temperature (150-160 °C), the DMX process produces a relatively high-pressure CO2 effluent (5-6 bara). Hence, energy and investment cost savings are expected to be obtained.