Modelling of a tubular membrane contactor for pre-combustion CO2 capture using ionic liquids: Influence of the membrane configuration, absorbent properties and operation parameters

A membrane contactor using ionic liquids (ILs) as solvent for pre-combustion capture CO2 at elevated temperature (303–393 K) and pressure (20 bar) has been studied using mathematic model in the present work. A comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) mass-transfer model was developed based on finite element method. The effects of liquid properties, membrane configurations, as well as operation parameters on the CO2 removal efficiency were systematically studied. The simulation results show that CO2 can be effectively removed in this process. In addition, it is found that the liquid phase mass transfer dominated the overall mass transfer. Membranes with high porosity and small thickness could apparently reduce the membrane resistance and thus increase the separation efficiency. On the other hand, the membrane diameter and membrane length have a relatively small influence on separation performance within the operation range