TCM publication: Solvent Degradation, Management and Reclaiming

We need to understand the processes in and around capture facilities

“At TCM, we’ve found that it is important to acquaint ourselves with capture processes, and those of us at the plant must collaborate across areas of responsibility. By doing this, we are able to gain an overview of what is going on in a plant, and what is happening during the capture process, which is where TCM’s measurement capabilities and experiences come in handy,” says Matthew Campbell, Technology Manager.

Experience from more than ten years of operations at TCM shows that it is essential to have full control of the entire capture process and of what is happening around the capture facility. TCM’s experiences show that you almost cannot be thorough enough. These experiences are described in the reports below.

To date, five reports have been published within this discipline

• Solvent degradation and thermal reclaiming results from TCM testing (2022)
• Multivariate data analysis of online-sensors and spectroscopic data for the prediction of solvent composition parameters for MEA (2022)
• CO₂ capture with monoethanolamine: Solvent management and environmental impacts during long term operation at the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) (2019)
• Results from MEA Degradation and Reclaiming Processes at the CO₂ Technology Centre Mongstad (2016)
• Degradation and Emission Results of Amine Plant Operations from MEA Testing at the CO₂ Technology Centre Mongstad (2016)

Unique results have been published; impurities in flue gases present challenges

TCM has investigated degradation and amine loss from the non-proprietary solvent CESAR 1, which is a mixture of water, amino-2-methylpropanol (AMP) and piperazine (PZ). The results came as a part of the ALIGN CCUS test campaign, during which a flue gas of around 3.7% CO₂ volume from two different sources was used: Combined Heat and Power plant at Mongstad (CHP) and residue fluid catalytic cracking refinery (RFCC). Through this test campaign, we found that amine loss through degradation increases when the NO₂ concentration at the absorber is increased. Due to impurities in the RFCC flue gas, TCM has measured higher amine loss through degradation of this gas than with the CHP flue gas. Amine loss through degradation for the CESAR 1 solvent was also compared with historical TCM results for monoethanolamine (MEA). The results indicate significantly lower amine loss for CESAR 1 than for MEA for both the CHP and RFCC flue gases.

You can read more about this as well as other tests that have been conducted on our website.

• CESAR 1
• MEA

Contact Muhammed Ismail Shah for further details.