Regeneration Behavior of a Sustainable Bioinspired Soybean-Based Solvent for CO2 Capture

The high-energy penalty for CO, capture is mainly attributed to the energy consumption for the regeneration of CO2-loaded solvent. In this study, a bioinspired soybean-based solvent (SBB solvent) was prepared according to the composition of amino acid in the commercially available hydrolyzed soy protein, which contains 18 different amino acids with the pH ranging from 13 (arginine) to 4.5 (aspartic acid) in the potassium hydroxide solution. The regeneration behavior of the SBB solvent was investigated in batch experiments under different operating conditions. The regeneration performance of the SBB solvent was evaluated in terms of CO2 desorption rate, CO2 desorption efficiency, and specific energy consumption. The result showed that the regeneration behavior of the SBB solvent was highly determined by the heating source temperature, initial CO2 loading, and solvent concentration. Compared to the conventional monoethanolamine, the SBB solvent proved to have 205% more CO2 desorption efficiency, up to 195% faster CO2 desorption rate, and 37% lower specific regeneration energy. The SBB solvent possesses great potential as new sustainable solvents for energy-efficient CO2 capture in the future.