Development of CO2 Absorption Using Blended Alkanolamine Absorbents for Multicycle Integrated Absorption–Mineralization

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the feasibility of blended amine absorbents in improving the CO2 alkanolamine-based absorption of multicycle integrated absorption–mineralization (multicycle IAM) under standard operating conditions (20–25 °C and 1 atm). Multicycle IAM is a promising approach that transforms CO2 emissions into valuable products such as carbonates using amine solvents and waste brine. Previously, the use of monoethanolamine (MEA) as an absorbent had limitations in terms of CO2 conversion and absorbent degradation, which led to the exploration of blended alkanolamine absorbents, such as diethanolamine, triethanolamine, and aminomethyl propanol (AMP) combined with MEA. The blended absorbent was evaluated in terms of the absorption performance and carbonate production in continuous cycles of absorption, precipitation/regeneration, and preparation. The results showed that the fourth cycle of the blend of 15 wt.% AMP and 5 wt.% MEA achieved high CO2 absorption and conversion efficiency, with approximately 87% of the absorbed CO2 being converted into precipitated carbonates in 43 min and a slight degradation efficiency of approximately 45%. This blended absorbent can improve the efficiency of capturing and converting CO2 when compared to the use of a single MEA, which is one of the alternative options for the development of CO2 capture and utilization in the future.