CO2 stripping from monoethanolamine using a membrane contactor

Membrane contactor based CO2 stripping experiments were conducted using loaded CO2 monoethanolamine (MEA) solution as an absorbent while N2 gas was used as a stripping gas. A membrane module made from stainless steel was developed to test a variety of membrane cartridges. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membranes were used in this work to test the desorption performance and membrane stability in gas stripping membrane contactor. The effect of the operating variables investigated included gas and liquid velocities, MEA concentration, and temperature. The experimental results showed that the stripping gas velocity had a minor effect on the CO2 desorption flux and mass transfer coefficients while the increase in the liquid velocity, operating temperature, and solution concentration could enhance CO2 desorption flux in the gas stripping membrane contactor. However, the CO2 desorption flux started to decrease at 5.0 kmol m−3 MEA solution. A high membrane porosity showed a superior desorption performance, but the long term performance deteriorated due to the membrane wetting.

► The membrane contactor was applied to investigate CO2 desorption.
► The experiments were performed to study CO2 stripping from MEA by PTFE hollow fibers.
► The study includes the analysis of mass transfer resistances.
► Long term desorption performance was examined.