Membrane contacting process for CO2 desorption

A membrane contactor based desorption process was developed to strip carbon dioxide (CO2) from loaded monoethalamine (MEA) solution. Nitrogen (N2) gas was used as a stripping gas instead of steam in a conventional column. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membranes were used to test the desorption performance. The liquid solution was fed in the lumen while the stripping gas was fed through the shell side. The stripping gas, liquid velocities, operating temperature, and MEA concentration were all investigated for their effect on CO2 desorption flux. It was found that the CO2 desorption flux was relatively constant with an increase stripping gas velocity while the liquid velocity, operating temperature, and solution concentration could enhance CO2 desorption flux in the membrane contactor based desorption process. However, an increase the solution concentration to 5 kmol m3 resulted in a decrease in the CO2 desorption flux due to the effect of viscosity.