Effect of methanol addition on water-CO2-diethanolamine system:: Influence on CO2 solubility and on liquid phase speciation

The aim of this study is the characterisation of VLE and chemical equilibria for the system CO2/diethanolamine (DEA)/H2O/methanol. The effect of MeOH composition has been studied using four compositions (from 0 to 30wt% of methanol with a fixed composition (30 wt%) of DEA), the measurement being made at T=298.15 K and at various CO2 loadings (from 0.2 to 0.8). An original experimental device was used. This device combines a FT-IR spectroscopy analysis of the liquid phase with a VLE measurement cell. The data base obtained, including the new solubility data and the liquid phase composition, allows the modelling of the system CO2/DEA/H2O/methanol using an electrolyte equation of state [Furst, W., Renon, H., 1993, Representation of excess properties of electrolyte solutions using a new equation of state, AIChE J, 39(2): 335-343] representing the equilibrium properties of the system and the liquid phase speciation. (C) 2008 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.