New Approaches in Modeling and Simulation of CO2 Absorption Reactor by Activated Potassium Carbonate Solution

Abstract

The increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is in strong relation with the human-induced warming up due to industrial processes, transportation, etc. In order to reduce the CO2 content, end of pipe post-combustion methods can be used in addition to other methods and techniques. The CO2 capture by absorption in potassium carbonate–bicarbonate activated solutions remains a viable method. In this study, a mathematical model for a packed bed reactor has been developed and tested. The mathematical model is tested for an industrial reactor based on CO2 absorption in Carsol solutions. The proposed model was validated by resolving for CO2 and water content, carbonate–bicarbonate, concentrations etc. For each operational parameter the error was calculated. The error for CO2 concentration is up to 4%. The height of the packed reactor is calculated as function of CO2 concentration in the final gas phase. The validated model can also be used for absorbing other CO2 streams taking into account the fact that its efficiency was proved in industrial scale. Future reactors used for CO2 absorption should consist of two parts in order to use partially regenerated solutions in the first part, with significant energy savings in the operational costs.