The use of aqueous amines, such as
monoethanolamine (MEA, 2-aminoethanol),
for post-combustion capture (PCC) of CO2 from fossil-fuel-fired
power station flue gases leads to undesirable reactions with oxygen,
SO
x
, and NO
x
. This study has used a gas chromatography with mass spectrometry
detection (GC–MS) method to measure the changes in concentrations
of organic compounds in samples of a 30% (w/w) aqueous MEA absorbent
obtained from CSIRO’s PCC pilot plant operating at AGL’s
Loy Yang brown coal-fired power station in Latrobe Valley, Victoria,
Australia. This aqueous MEA absorbent was previously used for more
than 700 h of PCC, and the collected samples represent a further 834
h of PCC operation. These data provide a new perspective on the close,
interdependent relationships between corrosion and amine degradation
reactions. Other important outcomes include confirmation that (a)
organic degradation products identified during laboratory-scale trials
were also produced during pilot-scale PCC and (b) N-(2-hydroxyethyl)imidazole (HEI) is a suitable molecular marker for
oxidative degradation of MEA. This investigation has also highlighted
areas that require further research, including (a) determination of
oxidative degradation mechanisms in both the presence and absence
of dissolved transition metals, (b) determination of parameters that
limit oxidative degradation during pilot-scale PCC, (c) investigation
of the antioxidative or oxygen-scavenging properties of partially
oxidized amine absorbents during PCC, and (d) measurement of the concentrations
of glycine, glycolic acid, and other potential organic acids during
PCC.