Experimental Studies on CO₂ Absorption in Immersed Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactor

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption performance from flue gas was investigated using monoethanolamine (MEA) solution in porous hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes contactor. The influence of operating parameters on CO₂ removal efficiency and flux were studied in the immersion operating mode. The experimental results indicated that the CO₂ removal efficiency and flux decreased with the increase of flue gas load and carbonization degrees, but the increase of the absorbent concentration and temperature promoted membrane performance of CO₂ capture. An increase of 84 m³•m^-2•h^-1in the flue gas load resulted in a 68% decrease in the removal efficiency. Absorbent carbonation degree increased to 0.45 mol CO₂•mol^-1MEA led to the decrease of active ingredient amounts in the absorption solution, and the corresponding removal efficiency and membrane flux dropped by 50% of the initial amounts, respectively. The increase of concentration and temperature of absorbent also benefited membrane absorption performance of CO₂ absorption, so that the concentration and temperature of the solvent increased lead to the CO₂ removal efficiency and flux increased.