Ionic liquid-ethanol mixed solvent design for the post-combustion carbon capture

Abstract

Global warming driven by CO2 emissions is a critical global issue, with a significant portion of post-combustion emissions. Effective capture and recovery of CO2 from flue gas are essential for mitigating the greenhouse effect and advancing a low-carbon economy. This study proposes an ionic liquid (IL)-ethanol mixed solvent for post-combustion carbon capture. The [C1Py][CF3COO]-ethanol mixed solvent is tailored by solving a computer-aided ionic liquid design (CAILD)-based MINLP optimization problem. The performance of this mixed solvent was thoroughly evaluated through rigorous process simulations. Additionally, a standard oil-based measurement is introduced to assess the quality of energy consumption. The results indicate that the post-combustion carbon capture process using the [C1Py][CF3COO]-ethanol mixed solvent reduces carbon emissions, energy consumption, and total annual cost by 62.33%-75.51%, 64.71%-72.7%, and 53.6%-61.7%, respectively, compared to the MEA/MDEA processes. These findings suggest that the IL-ethanol mixed solvent process is a highly feasible and promising solution for environmental protection, energy efficiency, and economic viability in post-combustion carbon capture applications.