Modeling CO2 Absorption and Desorption by Aqueous Monoethanolamine Solution with Aspen Rate-based Model

AbstractNineteen data sets of CO2 absorption by aqueous monoethanolamine solution (0.3g/g monoethanolamine in water) from the recent pilot plant studies at the University of Kaiserslautern have been simulated with Aspen rate-based model. The simulation study was performed with both the rigorous rate-based model and the traditional equilibrium- stage model. The results show the rate-based model yields reasonable predictions on all key performance measurements including CO2 removal percentage in the absorber, temperature and CO2 concentration profiles in the absorber and the desorber, and the desorber reboiler duty. In contrast, the equilibrium-stage model fails to reliably predict these key performance variables