Increased carbon dioxide absorption rates in carbonate solutions through surfactant addition

To meet the growing need for CO₂ capture and storage technology, Michigan Technological University is researching CO₂ capture and storage using carbonate solutions. The objective of the present study was to increase the absorption rate of CO₂ into the carbonate solution without reducing the absorption capacity of the solution. This approach used a polypropylene glycol methyl ether (PPGME) as a surfactant to chemically alter the gas bubble size. Experiments were conducted to study the absorption rate of CO₂ at varying surfactant concentrations of 0, 0.12, 0.24, 0.36 and 0.48 g/L. Results showed that as the concentration of surfactant increased in solution, the absorption rate also increased. The CO₂ absorption rate increased from 3.45 mmol/min CO₂ at 0 g/L PPGME to 3.92 mmol/min CO₂ at 0.48 g/L PPGME. This amounted to a 14% increase in the CO ₂ absorption rate with no decrease in absorption capacity of the solution.