Recovery of CO2 from Monoethanolamine using a Membrane Contactor

The technical feasibility of using polymeric membranes to recover CO2 from saturated monoethanolamine was investigated. A lab-scale system was built to study the performance of several common polymeric porous membranes for the recovery of CO2 from saturated aqueous MEA solution (15%wt) using a thermal swing process. Compositional, structural, and surface morphological characterization was carried out on the membranes before and after this process. The results showed polypropylene and polytetrafluoroethylene porous membranes outperformed polyester, polyamide, polyvinylidene fluoride, polysulfone, and cellulose acetate. The major component of mass transfer resistance was found to be the liquid boundary layer at the surface of the membrane. Membrane wetting and fouling were found to significantly deteriorate membrane performance.