Aqueous piperazine/N-(2-aminoethyl) piperazine for CO2 capture

A novel blend of piperazine (PZ) with N-(2-aminoethyl) piperazine (AEP) has been proposed as a superior solvent for CO2 capture from coal-fired flue gas. Blending PZ with AEP can remediate the precipitation issue of concentrated PZ while maintaining its high CO2 absorption rate, and high resistance to degradation. Although PZ/AEP has a lower CO2 capacity than concentrated piperazine, its higher heat of absorption may offset the negative effect on energy consumption. PZ/AEP also shows a milder nitrosamine issue than concentrated piperazine. A novel method for synthesizing AEP using PZ and monoethanolamine (MEA) was also developed to lower the solvent cost in industry application. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of GHGT