2‑(Methylamino)ethanol for CO2 Absorption in a Bubble Reactor

• Published in: Energy & fuels Vol. 28; no. 7; pp. 4737 - 4745
• Main Authors: Folgueira, I, Teijido, I, García-Abuín, A, Gómez-Díaz, D, Rumbo, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 17.07.2014
• ISSN: 0887-0624; 1520-5029
• DOI: 10.1021/ef500923b

This paper deals with the study of carbon dioxide capture using 2-(methylamino)­ethanol (MAE) aqueous solutions. The reaction was studied in a bubble column reactor (BCR), and the most important aspects of the process, such as the hydrodynamic behavior (bubble size distribution, gas holdup, and interfacial area) and absorption phenomena (load of carbon dioxide and mass-transfer coefficient on the liquid phase), were discussed. The interfacial area was determined using a photographic method. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism was determined using nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR), thereby the species in the medium were controlled throughout time. These results agreed with carbon dioxide loading values, observing the formation of carbamate at the first part of the experiments and bicarbonate at high carbon dioxide loadings. The carbamate hydrolysis is the bicarbonate production pathway. This wide work has enabled us to perform a global analysis of process and to understand how MAE absorbs the gas phase. MAE aqueous solutions show an attractive behavior with a high carbon dioxide loading and high reaction rate. This information could be used in the near future to select the best conditions to capture carbon dioxide and to improve amine regeneration processes.