Configuration screening of ceramic membrane heat exchanger for an energy-efficient carbon capture process

A CO2 regeneration test rig integrated with rich solvent-split mechanism was built in this study to recover the waste heat from the hot stripped gas by using different heat exchanger configurations in carbon capture process. Five ceramic membrane heat exchangers (CMHEs) and two stainless-steel heat exchangers (SSHEs) were experimentally investigated in terms of the reboiler duty saving. The experimental results of the key parameters showed that the CMHEs have overall higher reboiler duty reduction than the SSHEs, and the Config-B (two multi-channel CMHEs in series), the Config-C (three multi-channel ceramic membrane tubes assembled in parallel), and the Config-E (seven mono-channel ceramic membrane tubes assembled in parallel) could reduce the reboiler duty by around 22%. Accordingly, the economic analysis of the different modified versions of rich-split carbon capture process was conducted. The maximum CO2 capture cost saving reached $ 4.41/t-CO2 by using the Config-D (three mono-channel ceramic membrane tubes assembled in parallel). The sensitivity analysis predicted that the development of membrane technology is expected to further promote savings in capture cost by reducing membrane unit price and prolonging membrane life. In addition, the modified rich-split system could be more suitable for the situation of rising fossil energy prices in the future.

Automated summary

A CO2 regeneration test rig was built to recover waste heat from stripped gas in carbon capture process, and five ceramic membrane heat exchangers (CMHEs) and two stainless-steel heat exchangers (SSHEs) were experimentally investigated. The experimental results showed that CMHEs had higher reboiler duty reduction than SSHEs, and Config-B, Config-C, and Config-E could reduce the reboiler duty by around 22%. Economic analysis revealed that Config-D achieved the maximum CO2 capture cost saving of $4.41/t-CO2. The development of membrane technology is expected to further promote cost savings.