Characterization and comparison of the CO2 absorption performance into single and blended alkanolamines in a packed column

The performance of carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption into aqueous solutions of single and blended alkanolamines was evaluated experimentally in a bench-scale absorber packed with high-efficiency packings. The absorption experiments were conducted under atmospheric pressure, using a feed gas mixture containing 10% CO2 and 90% nitrogen. Monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), diisopropanolamine (DIPA), methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), and their mixtures including MEA-MDEA, DEA-MDEA, MEA-AMP, and DEA-AMP were tested in this work. The absorption performance was presented in terms of the CO2 removal efficiency, absorber height requirement, effective interfacial area for mass transfer, and overall mass-transfer coefficient (K(G)a(e)). Comparison of the absorption performance between the tested alkanolamines was made over ranges of operating conditions to establish the correlation between single- and blended-alkanolamine systems.