The use of nanoparticles for high-efficiency CO2 capture by methanol

Methanol-based physical absorption with good capture ability of CO2 and H2S is commercially used in the acid gas removal (AGR) unit. However, the huge energy consumption for cooling methanol and acid gas prevent its massive development. An increasing number of experimental and numerical work has been reported on the benefits of using nanofluid to improve the CO2 absorption at room temperature to lower the energetic cost. The purpose of this paper is to realign the study with the industrial process by confronting the approach reported in the publications and conclusions with the reality of the overall industrial operations. A brief discussion on the industrial operations of CO2 removal by methanol solution without nanoparticles is firstly given, with the observations and technical difficulties involved. Then, the available of the Rectisol-based variants for CCS will be reviewed, including the issues of designed models, simulations and the compute of absorption performance. Subsequently, the benefit of nanoparticles to the Rectisol process is studied. Finally, a critical review is performed on the results available in the publications and will propose several suggestions to their evaluation for industrial application. It is suggested that using nanoparticles to enhance absorption and desorption process of CO2 capture has big room for mature because of the limited data under industrial conditions.