Development of a Rigorous Modeling Framework for Solvent-Based CO2 Capture. 1. Hydraulic and Mass Transfer Models and Their Uncertainty Quantification

Abstract

Rigorous process models are critical for reducing the risk and uncertainty of scaling up a new technology. It is essential to quantify uncertainty in key submodels so that uncertainty in the overall model can be appropriately characterized. In solvent-based postcombustion CO2 capture technologies, mass transfer and column hydraulics are key factors affecting the performance of the absorber. Developing submodels for mass transfer, column hydraulics, and reactions is a challenging multiscale problem since the phenomena are tightly coupled and it is difficult to design experiments to isolate each properly. In particular, simultaneous mass transfer coupled with fast reaction kinetics makes it difficult to measure the mass transfer rate and reactions rate individually. The typical approach to solving this issue is to use proxy systems to conduct experiments under mass-transfer-limited or reaction-limited conditions. This approach can lead to inaccurate mass transfer submodels. In this paper, a novel simultaneo...