(445c) Process Design and Optimization of Absorption-Based CO2 Capture Processes with a Low-Pressure Flash Column

With tightening restrictions for climate change and growing implementation efforts for carbon-neutrality, the importance of the hydrogen economy has considerably increased. However, SMR(Steam Methane Reforming) based technology using natural gas, which is mostly used for hydrogen production, has an environmental limitation to achieve the net zero carbon emissions. To realize the sustainable production of hydrogen at industrial scale, it is essential to introduce CO₂ capture process on SMR-based hydrogen plants.

This study aims to design and simulate the amine-based CO₂ capture process for the reduction of energy consumption when CO₂ capture is applied for a high-pressure syngas stream generated from a shift converter reactor. The new design strategies are considered, including adding a low-pressure flash column and introducing a semi-lean amine stream. Optimization and sensitivity analysis by changing the key design variables are carried out. Assessment for technical feasibility on the configurational changes is conducted, which evaluates the techno-economic benefit of the proposed configuration against the traditional absorber-stripper arrangement.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2019R1A2C2002263) and by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20214710100060).