Carbon dioxide capture from flue gases using a cross-flow membrane contactor and the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have to be controlled and reduced in order to avoid environmental risks. Membrane processes in combination with the use of ionic liquids are recently under research and development in order to demonstrate a zero solvent emission process for CO2 capture. In this work, the application of a cross-flow membrane contactor is studied for CO 2 absorption when the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate is used as solvent. A mathematical model considering a parallel flow configuration is applied for a cross-flow system in order to describe the mass transfer rate. At a macroscopic level, Koveralla is calculated considering different mixing models corresponding to plug flow and continuous stirred models and a first order mass transfer rate. A microscopic model based on laminar flow has been applied, obtaining a membrane mass transfer coefficient of km = 3.78 × 10-6 m•s-1, which is about five times higher than that obtained in the macroscopic model. The interfacial area, a, allows the comparison of efficiencies between cross-flow and parallel membrane contactor systems in terms of the product (K overalla)