Chemical absorption of carbon dioxide into aqueous PEO solution of monoethanolamine

Carbon dioxide was absorbed into aqueous polyethylene oxide (PEO) solution containing monoethanolamine (MEA) in a flat-stirred vessel to investigate the effect of non-Newtonian rheological behavior of PEO on the rate of chemical absorption of CO2, where the reaction between CO2 and MEA was assumed to be a first-order reaction with respect to the molar concentration of CO2 and MEA, respectively. The liquid-side mass transfer coefficient (k(L)), which was obtained from the dimensionless empirical equation containing the properties of viscoelasticity of the non-Newtonian liquid, was used to estimate the enhancement factor due to chemical reaction. PEO with elastic property of non-Newtonian liquid made the rate of chemical absorption of CO2 accelerate compared with Newtonian liquid based on the same viscosity of the solution.