(724d) Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of the Carbon Capture System Using Blended Amine-Based Solvent

Control of greenhouse gas emission has become an important issue due to the rising concerns for global warming. Among the various potential modes of carbon capture, post-combustion capture (PCC) is an appropriate option for capturing carbon dioxide from existing coal-fired power plants because the plants could be retrofitted easily to accommodate PCC systems at commercial scale. However, extra capital and operating cost required to install and operate the PCC system is the main hurdle for its widespread application. The amine-based absorption process causes significant loss in power production due to the large amount of regeneration energies needed in the desorption stage. Therefore, the blended amine solvents, which are having bigger absorption capacity and fast reactions, have been actively searched and developed. The various efficient operation methods such as flexible operation have been also suggested in line with decreasing the cost of energy loss in the process. Furthermore, there have been some attempts to develop a dynamic model of MEA (Monoethanolamine) absorption process in order to investigate the operational issues related to the dynamics of the process. However, most dynamic models have not been validated due to lack of data.
In this research, the absorption process based on a newly developed blended-amine solvent is simulated in gPROMS and the process operability and dynamic issues are examined. Thermodynamics and rigorous process modeling for the absorption process using the new solvent are developed in simulator. Dynamic models are compared with pilot plant data for validation. Furthermore, dynamic behaviors with control loops are observed under some potential operational scenarios to optimize the operational strategy to reduce the regeneration energies. Important dynamics, disturbances are analyzed and control structure is selected and tested.