Effects of the Temperature Bulge in CO2 Absorption from Flue Gas by Aqueous Monoethanolamine

Pilot plant data for CO2 absorption by aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) were simulated with the RateSep model and a dynamic model implemented in gPROMS. RateSep is the second generation rate-based model in AspenPlus. Because of the phenomena of combined absorption and water vaporization and condensation, a temperature bulge will appear in the absorber. The present study addresses the effects of column parameters including L/G, heat of absorption, height of packing, and flue gas CO2 concentration. The temperature bulge is quantified by its magnitude and location and how these parameters affect the absorber performance. When the bulge is located in the top or bottom of the column, the magnitude is close to the limiting values of the temperature in the liquid and gas, respectively, leaving the column. The magnitude is maximized when the bulge is located approximately in the middle of the column. The absorber performance seems to be independent of the bulge location when it is located in the top or in the botto...