Analysis of hybrid membrane and chemical absorption systems for CO₂ capture

Amine-based absorption of CO₂ is currently the industry standard technology for capturing CO₂ emitted from power plants, refineries and other large chemical plants. However, more recently there have been a number of competing technologies under consideration, including the use of membranes for CO₂ separation and purification. We constructed and analyzed two different hybrid configurations combining and connecting chemical absorption with membrane separation. For a particular flue gas which is currently treated with amine-based chemical absorption at a pilot plant we considered and tested how membranes could be integrated to improve the performance of the CO₂ capture. In particular we looked at the CO₂ removal efficiency and the energy requirements. Sensitivity analysis was performed varying the size of the membranes and the solvent flow rate.