Damartzis T., Kouneli A., Papadopoulos A., Seferlis P., Dimitriadis G., Vlachopoulos G., 2014, Optimal Design of Solvent Based Post Combustion CO2 Capture Processes in Quicklime Plants, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 39, 1327-1332.
The optimal design of a solvent based post combustion CO2 capture unit in a quicklime production plant is investigated. A 30 % weight aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) solution is used as the absorption agent for the treatment of a 14 % mol CO2 flue gas stream. The objective function in the design optimization incorporates several equipment capacity and operating factors that have a direct impact on capital expenditure and energetic cost of the unit. A reliable and accurate equilibrium model is developed for the prediction of the process behavior. The model employs an orthogonal collocation on finite element formulation enabling structural flexibility for design purposes and efficient model reduction for computational facilitation. Nonlinear programming techniques are used for the identification of the optimal column configuration and the operating conditions. The ability of the optimally designed absorption/desorption column to achieve acceptable performance under varying separation operating conditions such as flue gas CO2 concentration, flowrate, and temperature is investigated.
