Abstract:

This investigation into carbon capture systems using ASPEN HYSYS provides significant insights into optimising operational parameters, such as the solvent to feed flow rate ratio, and their impact on energy consumption and economic feasibility. The analysis of separator temperature reveals an inverse relationship with CO2 capture efficiency, peaking at 25°C due to increased CO2 solubility at lower temperatures. However, efficiency gains diminish beyond this threshold, indicating the necessity for optimal thermal management in the separation process. Pressure variations similarly exhibit a peak capture efficiency at approximately 220 KPa, attributed to enhanced CO2 solubility under higher pressures, though efficiency declines at higher pressures due to solvent capacity limitations and operational challenges. Investigation into the solvent to feed flow rate ratio shows that increasing the solvent flow rate improves CO2 capture up to a point, beyond which efficiency gains taper off, indicating diminishing returns. This finding emphasises the need to optimise solvent usage to balance capture efficiency with energy and operational costs. Achieving a 100% capture rate at a solvent-to-feed flow rate ratio of 7.0 demonstrates the potential of CCS technologies, though the economic and environmental implications of high solvent usage require careful consideration for overall process sustainability.