A critical review on the techno-economic analysis of membrane gas absorption for CO2 capture

Conventional CO2 capture technologies are well-established for CO2 separation in power plants and carbon emission industries. However, the additional operating expenses under optimized conditions remain a problem that leads to increased production costs. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the viability of CO2 capture technologies based on their energy consumption and processability. This review focuses on the economic feasibility of membrane-based CO2 capture and comparison with existing technologies, with particular attention to the costs of CO2 capture and its removal efficiency. On this basis, technology limitations and challenges will be further discussed based on the operational configuration. The output of the technical and economic evaluations concluded that membrane gas absorption (MGA) is the most feasible, has relatively low operating costs, and is easy to operate at room condition, which implies the potential of MGA as an alternative approach to mitigate CO2 emissions. In addition, this review also clarifies the development of superhydrophobic membranes in MGA, so that MGA can reach another higher level in industrial-scale applications.