Physical–chemical properties of gas–liquid contactors in packed absorption column

Abstract

The burning of combustible material that produces emissions released to the atmosphere results in unfavorable climate change due to emissions of CO2, NOx, and acid rain by SOx, endangering the health of the population. The treatment of combustion gases by means of a packed absorption column with a high-efficiency liquid–gas contactor material reduces pollutant emissions to the atmosphere, where combustion gases make contact with aqueous amine solution of mono ethanol amine (MEA), using different structured packing materials which can be metallic, polymeric, or ceramic. The objective of this work is to study which one of these three types of materials of gas–liquid contactors presents the lowest deterioration in the presence of combustion gases flowing countercurrent to MEA. The materials were evaluated according to the Standard Test Methods ASTM G31-2004 for corrosion testing, ASTM E8-1998 for tension testing, ASTM E384-1990 for microhardness testing, ASTM G5-1999 for potentiodynamic and potentiostatic testing, and the procedure of NRF-194 PEMEX-2007. The properties studied were the tensile strengths, the hardness values, and the elastic moduli, before and after structured packing materials made contact with combustion gases in MEA aqueous solution. The results showed that in acidic and basic mediums, the metallic material was the most resistant to abrasion; it has the highest tensile strength, and presents more resistance during the stress test. The hardness results for the materials were metallic: 190 KH, polymeric: 20 KH, and ceramic: 700KH. The respective corrosion resistances in the presence of MEA were 1.63 × 10−3, 3.76 × 10−3, and 1.42 × 10−2 mm/year.