The effect of solid adsorbents in Triethanolamine (TEA) solution for enhanced CO2 absorption rate

This study aimed to investigate CO2 absorption using chemical solvent of amine H2O-TEA-CO2 in presence of activated carbon (AC) particles. The studied experimental range includes the temperature in range of 293–333 K, pressure in range of 3.5–9.5 bar, the concentration of solvents in range of 2.5–8.5 wt%, and amount of activated carbon in range of 0.3–0.9 kg/m3. The central composite design (CCD) with four parameters of temperature, pressure, amine concentration, and active carbon was applied in 5 levels. The physical solubility CO2 in amine solutions decreases with the increasing temperature that indicates the process is exothermic. The optimal values of temperature, pressure, concentration, and active carbon are 303.0 K, 8.00 bar, 7.00 M, 0.75 g, respectively, and 25.99% for the input variables and desirability index of 0.732. The CO2 loading, absorption capacity, and absorption percentage are obtained in the range of 0.572–1.180 molCO2/molTEA, 0.208–0.506 wt%, and 12.73–32.61% in Triethanolamine (TEA) solutions in activated carbon, respectively. All dependent variables had a p value of less than 0.05, indicating that models were significant and substantial. The result showed that the addition of solid particles to chemical solvents effectively enhances CO2 absorption.