Reducing Aerosol Emissions by Decoupled Parameter Management during the CO₂ Capture Process in a Multi-stage...

Aerosol emissions from the CO₂ capture process have a significant impact in terms of solvent loss and environmental pollution. Here, we propose a novel approach with multi-stage circulation for CO₂ capture and synergistic aerosol reduction, which divides the absorption section into three circulation stages and reduces aerosol emissions through decoupled operation of the three absorption sections and the management of solvent CO₂ loadings. Experimental results show that with the decoupled management of the liquid-gas ratio and solvent temperature in absorption sections, the aerosol mass concentration at the outlet of the 3rd absorption section can be reduced by 25.6% to a minimum of 349.7 mg/m³ at a liquid-gas ratio of 43.2 L/m³ and a solvent temperature of 303 K. Furthermore, aerosol removal is performed by setting up a water wash section after the absorption section. The aerosol mass concentration at the outlet of the absorber is reduced to 168.6 mg/m³ with the regulation of the wash water temperature and flow rate. In addition, improvements are proposed for the combination of the utilization of recovered solvents and the co-removal of SO₂. This study provides innovative insights into the design of the CO₂ capture system and the reduction of aerosol emissions, which are of great significance for the mitigation of global warming and the control of environmental pollution.