University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Development and Bench-Scale Testing of a Novel Biphasic Solvent-Enabled Absorption Process for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture

Lu, Yongqi; Lu, Hong; Nielsen, Paul

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/113491

Description

Title
Development and Bench-Scale Testing of a Novel Biphasic Solvent-Enabled Absorption Process for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture
Author(s)
  • Lu, Yongqi
  • Lu, Hong
  • Nielsen, Paul
Contributor(s)
  • Trimeric Corporation
  • Abbott Power Plant (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Issue Date
2018
Keyword(s)
  • Biphasic carbon dioxide absorption
  • Carbon dioxide capture
  • CO2 capture
Abstract
"The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) will partner with Trimeric Corporation to advance the development of a transformational biphasic carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption process (BiCAP) and validate its technical advantages by testing an integrated system at a 40-kilowatt-electric (kWe) bench scale with actual coal-derived flue gas. The BiCAP process utilizes biphasic solvents, which are water-lean solvent blends, that can form and develop dual liquid phases, with the absorbed CO2 highly enriched in one of the phases. Key features of BiCAP include using only the CO2-enriched liquid phase for CO2 desorption, resulting in reduced mass of solvent required for regeneration, and directly feeding a portion of the CO2-enriched solvent as a cold stream feed to the top of the stripper, which reduces the use of stripping heat and increases the energy efficiency for CO2 stripping. In a previous U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded project, the BiCAP was tested at laboratory scale (10 kWe) and exhibited a 34 percent reduction in parasitic power requirements and twice the CO2 working capacity for desorption when compared with a process using the most widely-used, commercially available amine-based solvent, monoethanolamine (MEA). After determining the optimal process configuration and operating conditions, the team will design and fabricate the 40-kWe integrated bench-scale capture unit. Parametric testing for two of the best performing biphasic solvents identified from previous research will be conducted with simulated flue gas at UIUC’s Applied Research Laboratory and one selected solvent will be evaluated with a slipstream of actual flue gas at the UIUC Abbott coal-fired power plant. The team will use the test results to prepare a techno-economic analysis, as well as an analysis of the technology gaps and potential environmental, health, and safety risks, to advance the technology toward further scale up and commercialization. The energy efficiency advantages of the BiCAP coupled with reduced equipment sizes when scaled up for commercial systems leads to reductions in both capital and operating expenses. Validation of this technology’s capability of a step-change reduction in CO2 capture cost and energy penalties through testing at bench scale in an actual flue gas environment makes progress toward achieving DOE’s Carbon Capture Program goal of capture cost of approximately $30 per tonne of CO2 with 95 percent CO2 purity.

Related projects and publications "
Publisher
U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory
Series/Report Name or Number
  • Development and Bench-Scale Testing of a Novel Biphasic Solvent-Enabled Absorption Process for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture
  • Development of a Novel Biphasic CO2 Absorption Process with Multiple Stages of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
  • https://netl.doe.gov/project-information?p=FE0031600
  • http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113491
  • http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113492
Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)
  • U.S. Department of Energy ; DE-FE0031600
  • U.S. Department of Energy ; DE-FE0026434 (prior award for bench-scale testing)

Owning Collections

Research Projects -- Illinois Sustainable Technology Center PRIMARY
Completed research projects done by Illinois Sustainable Technology Center staff