Carbon Capture Operations Research Articles

Chemical absorption of CO2 in alkaline solutions using an intensified reactor

AbstractCapturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from point sources is critical for a sustainable chemical industry. Several techniques have already been developed and the race is ongoing to meet more stringent limitations at lower operating costs. This study presents the capability of a novel, flexible reactor to achieve high absorption rates at very low power consumption. CO2 absorption in an aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution was used as a benchmark. An air–CO2 stream made of 30% v/v CO2 was injected co‐currently with the aqueous alkaline solution in a tubular reactor equipped with woven mesh mixers. The removal efficiencies were measured along the length of the reactor, which operated at total mean flow velocities ranging between 1–2 m/s and gas phase holdups between 10%–30%. Four different mixer geometries were also tested, and the results were analyzed based on the operating conditions and reactor design configurations. While these studies can be further optimized and potentially applied in carbon capture operations, it was found that more than 96.5% of the CO2 could be removed using different combinations of mixer geometry and operating conditions. This high removal efficiency was reached within a residence time of 400 ms at a low cost of 23.65 .

ExxonMobil creates CO2 capture business

ExxonMobil has created a dedicated business unit for its carbon capture operations. ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions will get an initial investment of $3 billion to develop more than 20 carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects worldwide, the firm says. In addition to building CCS facilities, ExxonMobil is working with FuelCell Energy, Global Thermostat, and Mosaic Materials on carbon capture chemistry based on carbonates, amines, and metal-organic frameworks, respectively. Separately, CCS firm Svante recently raised $75 million to develop its nanoporous solid sorbent to capture CO 2 from flue gas .