Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactors in CO₂ Desorption: A Review

Abstract

Post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) using membrane technology is a rising alternative to PCC processes, which is based on conventional equipment, such as CO2 absorptiondesorption in packed columns, to mitigate human-associated climate change. Research on CO2 capture system has been centered on improving the CO2 absorption process efficiency, while little attention has been devoted to the performance of the solvent regeneration technology.In this review, research development is focused on the performance of the CO2 desorption process using hollow fiber membrane contactors (HFMCs). The main impact factors in membrane contactor technology are presented, including solvent and membrane material selection, membrane module design, mass transfer correlations, operational issues, modeling and simulations. Each section has been discussed in terms of its current status while describing future challenges to improve the technology for its industrial implementation.

Efficient Estimation of Permeate Flux of Asymmetric Ceramic Membranes for Vacuum Membrane Distillation

“…Membrane contactors have received considerable attention in various applications such as membrane distillation (MD) for desalination [ 1 , 2 ], membrane absorption (MA) [ 3 ], and membrane stripping (MS) [ 4 ] for CO 2 capture, due to their high mass transfer area and flexible installation and operation. Four configurations of MD processes have been extensively investigated for separation, including direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), air gap membrane distillation (AGMD), sweep gas membrane distillation (SGMD), and vacuum membrane distillation (VMD).…”

Non-Dispersive Co2 Separation Process Using Vacuum Desorption and Ionic Liquids as Carbon Capture and Utilization Innovative Technology

“…Nevertheless, the main challenge is to achieve a reduction in the energy consumption for CO 2 rich-solvent regeneration carried out in the desorption column, which is estimated to constitute 15-30 % of the power plant output [3]. Focusing on it, Membrane Vacuum Regeneration technology (MVR) is proposed as an innovative CO 2 desorption process allowing energy savings with respect to conventional packed columns for the CO 2 desorption step [4][5][6][7]. Using MVR system, carbon dioxide is desorbed in a hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) from the rich solution by vacuum technology.…”

Permeability and Stability of Hydrophobic Tubular Ceramic Membrane Contactor for CO2 Desorption from MEA Solution

“…Membrane contactors are potential candidates applied for CO 2 desorption given their advantages of high specific surface area and high operational flexibility as well as easy modularization [5,6]. To date, much fewer studies regarding membrane contactors have been conducted for membrane CO 2 desorption compared with membrane CO 2 absorption.…”

“…In the past decades, some polymeric membranes, most notably polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) [5], polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) [9] and polypropylene (PP) [10], have been used for CO 2 desorption. Despite these polymeric materials exhibiting advantages of high specific surface area for mass transfer, in general, they underperform on anti-chemical degradation, anti-thermal aging and mechanical strength [6]. These drawbacks of polymeric membranes make them easily susceptible to undesired variations in membrane structure and properties, such as in morphology, microstructure, hydrophobicity, etc., and even to liquid leakage after long-term exposure to the evaluated-temperature chemical solution.…”

“…The pores filled with gas and vapor usually have higher mass transfer performance for CO 2 compared with those filled with liquid since membrane desorption processes are driven by temperature and pressure differences. Moreover, the hydrophobic pores without wetting will improve thermal and chemical resistance for long-term performance [6]. Original ceramic materials are hydrophilic because of the presence of massive hydroxyl groups (-OH) on their surface and pores [20].…”