(552k) Process Design and Optimisation of a Novel Dual-Reflux Pressure Swing Adsorption System for on-Board CO2 Capture

To achieve the net zero emission target, it is essential to curtail substantially the CO₂ emission of the transportation sector as well as power and industrial plants¹. The challenge lies in that the CO₂ sources of the shipping industry are very distributed, in that a ship emits much smaller CO₂ than a coal-fired power plant but the number of ships is numerous. In this respect, a CO₂ capture unit designed for a vessel has to be so compact in size that it is installable on board a ship. The CO₂ capture unit should not be affected adversely by tilting and rolling of a ship on voyage and it should be able to operate with the restricted utilities that are available on the ship.

The proposed PSA-SPUR system is a single-stage, dual-reflux adsorption process designed for recovering the heavy component from a gas mixture at both a very high purity and recovery, not necessitating unrealistically low pressures for desorption. In this study, the PSA-SPUR system has been adapted for the on-board carbon capture and optimised for maximising the system’s feed throughput to facilitate its installation on a ship. The excellence of the PSA-SPUR system for CO₂ capture is to be evaluated by Equilibrium Theory model qualitatively^2,3, followed by experimental campaign using the lab-scale six-column Pressure Swing Adsorption rig.

References

1. IMO(MEPC72) RESOLUTION MEPC.304(72) Initial IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships 2018.

2. Chen, Y.; Ahn, H., Feasibility Study of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Processes for CO₂ Capture and H₂ Purification in Blue Hydrogen Processes and Hydrogen Deblending in the Gas Network. In 2022 AIChE Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, United States., 2022.

3. Chen, Y.; Ahn, H., Optimization Strategy for Enhancing the Product Recovery of a Pressure Swing Adsorption through Pressure Equalization or Co-current Depressurization: A Case Study of Recovering Hydrogen from Methane. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2023, 62(12), 5286-5296.