Membrane screening and development for CO2 absorption in a membrane contactor

里贾纳大学的二氧化碳捕获国际测试中心(ITC)进行研究，以开发能够经济地从工业来源捕获二氧化碳(CO2)的技术。由于二氧化碳是一种温室气体，这是一个需要进一步研究的重要全球问题。传统上，使用填充塔从烟道气中吸收二氧化碳。但这些塔往往非常大，操作成本也很高。最近，膜接触器已成为一项有前途的技术。ITC的一项研究表明，膜接触器的性能可以比填充塔更好。因此，我们认为这项相对较新的技术有潜力在气体处理领域做出重大贡献。更小、更高效的膜接触器有朝一日可以取代目前工业上使用的大型且昂贵的填料塔。为了使膜接触器成功，需要研究膜的稳定性。目前，膜被吸收溶剂润湿，导致性能损失。这项研究计划集中在这三个任务上，努力开发出负担得起的耐湿膜。在任务1中，我们正在分析各种膜-溶剂关系，以确定优化性能的系统特性。任务2致力于制造具有这些理想特性的平板和中空纤维膜。然后在任务3的膜接触器中测试这些膜，以评估系统的整体性能。并将二氧化碳捕获结果与现有的填充柱技术进行比较。这项工作的长期目标是开发一种中试规模的膜接触器，可以在工业环境中进行测试。

The International Test Centre for CO2 Capture (ITC) at the University of Regina conducts research to develop technology that can capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial sources economically.  Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas, this is an important global issue that needs further research. Traditionally, CO2 is absorbed from flues gas using packed columns.  These columns tend to be very large and expensive to operate.  Recently, membrane contactors have emerged as a promising technology.  Research at the ITC has shown that membrane contactors can perform better than packed columns.  Therefore, we feel that this relatively new technology has the potential to make a significant contribution in the area of gas treating.  Smaller, more efficient membrane contactors could one day replace the large and expensive packed columns that are currently used in industry. In order for membrane contactors to be successful, research is needed to address membrane stability.  Currently, membranes are wetted by the absorption solvents, leading to a loss of performance.  This research program is focused on thee tasks in an effort to develop affordable membranes that resist wetting.  In Task 1 we are analyzing various membrane-solvent relationships to identify system characteristics that optimize performance.  Task 2 is devoted to manufacturing flat and hollow fibre membranes that possess these desirable characteristics.  These membranes are then tested in membrane contactors in Task 3 to assess the overall performance of the system, and compare the CO2 capture results with existing packed column technology.  The long-term goal of this work is to develop a pilot-plant scale membrane contactor that can be tested in an industrial setting.