Hydrodynamic study of a CO2 desorption column using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

Desorption of CO2 from the rich amine solvent is one of the main operations in the amine-based CO2 capture process. Proper vapour and liquid flow through the packing materials would enhance the heat transfer that is needed for stripping CO2 from solvent. This is achieved by increasing the surface area of the flowing solvent by using the packing material. In this study, the created CFD (Computational Fluid dynamics) model in OpenFOAMTM was able to simulate the factors influencing TCM (Technology Centre Mongstad) desorption performance, including liquid distribution, wettability and film thickness within the packing material. Three scenarios were considered including a base case for a better understanding of the hydrodynamics in the desorption column. Two of these are to compare the influence of mass flow rates, while one is used to investigating potential improvement. Simulation revealed that introducing a deflector plate and CO2 bypass tube has a positive hydrodynamic effect in the desorption column.