Simulation of the Membrane Process of CO2 Capture from Flue Gas via Commercial Membranes While Accounting for the Presence of Water Vapor

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage is one of the potential options for reducing CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants while preserving their operation. Mathematical modeling was carried out for a one-stage membrane process of carbon dioxide capture from the flue gases of coal-fired power plants using commercial gas separation membranes. Our calculations show that highly CO2-permeable membranes provide similar characteristics with respect to the separation process (e.g., a specific area of membrane and a specific level of electrical energy consumption) despite the significant variation in CO2/N2 and H2O/CO2 selectivity. Regarding the development of processes for the recovery of CO2 from flue gas using membrane technology, ensuring high CO2 permeance of a membrane is more important than ensuring high CO2/N2 selectivity. The presence of water vapor in flue gas provides a higher driving force of CO2 transfer through the membrane due to the dilution of CO2 in the permeate. A cross-flow membrane module operation provides better recovery of CO2 in the presence of water vapor than a counter-current operation.