The waste gas from chemical plants, including urea fertilizer plant, contains a large amount of CO₂ gas in addition to NH₃ gas. New solvents have been studied for use in the absorption of waste gases, but most of them are carried out at specific compositions and flow rates for individual gases. In this paper, a complete conceptual design of the process for separately absorbing CO₂ and NH₃ gases in a waste gas feedstock stream with a broad range of CO₂ contents and flow rates is presented. To absorb this waste gas, a mixed absorbent solvent consisting of 1-butyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Bim][NTf₂]) and monoethanolamine (MEA) was used. The thermodynamic model and kinetic model of the new MEA-H₂O-CO₂-NH₃-ionic liquid (IL) system were constructed and rigorously modeled and simulated for different sources and compared with the conventional H2O-based process. Simulation results showed that the use of mixed solvents compared to conventional processes resulted in less total regeneration energy under all conditions regardless of CO2 content and flow rate and the effect of IL concentration on energy consumption and total regeneration energy with pressure in stripping column were analyzed, with 30% ionic liquid concentration and 180 kPa CO₂ stripping pressure and 240 kPa NH₃ stripping pressure. In addition, the total regeneration energy was analyzed after the process improvement to optimize the energy consumption of the process, which saved 2.9% of the energy at 40% CO₂ content. The [Bim] [NTf₂] + MEA+H₂O blend solvent proposed in this paper is a green mixed solvent that is very effective for the absorption of CO₂ and NH₃ mixed gases, which can be widely used not only for fertilizer plant waste gas treatment but also for other industries.

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1. Olivier JG, Peters J. Trends in global CO2 and total greenhouse gas emissions - 2020 report. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. 2020;1–85.
2. Projected growth in CO2 emissions driven by countries outside the OECD. EIA, Editor. 2016.
3. Lindsey. Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide [Online]. N.O.a.A. Administration, Editor. 2019. Available from: Climate.gov.
4. Kang L, Shi L, Zeng Q, Liao B, Wang B, Guo X. Melamine resin-coated lignocellulose fibers with robust superhydrophobicity for highly effective oil/water separation. Sep Purif Technol. 2021;279:119737.
5. Zhang X, Wu Y, Liu X, Reis S, Jin J, Dragosits U, et al. Ammonia emissions may be substantially underestimated in China. Environ Sci Technol. 2017;51:12089–12096.
6. Wang M, Lawal A, Stephenson P, Sidders J, Ramshaw C. Post-combustion CO2 capture with chemical absorption: A state-of-the-art review. Chem Eng Res Des. 2011;89:1609–1624 .
7. Vega F, Baena-Moreno FM, Gallego Fernández LM, Portillo E, Navarrete B, Zhang Z. Current status of CO2 chemical absorption research applied to CCS: Towards full deployment at industrial scale. Appl Energy. 2020;260:114276.
8. Jiang W, Siyuan R, Yijing S, Qizhen L. Research and application of CCUS technology based on "double carbon" background. J Huazhong Univ Sci Technol (Nat Sci Ed). 2022;1–12.
9. Danielik V, Jurišová J, Fellner P, Štefancová R, Kučera M. Absorption of ammonia in the melt of ammonium nitrate. Chem Pap. 2018;72:3119–3128.
10. Sander R. Compilation of Henry’s law constants (version 4.0) for water as solvent. Atmos Chem Phys. 2015;15:4399–4981.
11. Higa M, Yamamoto EY, Oliveira JCD, Conceição WAS. Evaluation of the integration of an ammonia-water power cycle in an absorption refrigeration system of an industrial plant. Energy Convers Manag. 2018;178:265–276.
12. Joshi JA, Hogan JA, Cowan RM, Strom PF, Finstein MS. Biological removal of gaseous ammonia in biofilters: Space travel and earth-based applications. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2000;50:1647–1654.
13. Chung YC, Huang C, Tseng CP. Biological elimination of H2S and NH3 from waste gases by biofilter packed with immobilized heterotrophic bacteria. Chemosphere. 2001;43:1043–1050.
14. Lan T, Zhao Y, Deng J, Zhang J, Shi L, Zhang D. Selective catalytic oxidation of NH3 over noble metal-based catalysts: state of the art and future prospects. Catal Sci Technol. 2020;10:5792–5810.
15. Yeom C, Kim Y. Adsorption of ammonia using mesoporous alumina prepared by a templating method. Environ Eng Res. 2017;22:401–406.
16. Yang B, Bai L, Zeng S, Luo S, Liu L, Han J, et al. NH3 separation membranes with self-assembled gas highways induced by protic ionic liquids. Chem Eng J. 2021;421:127876.
17. Li F, Zhang Q, Chen P, Wang Y, Wei C, Zhang W. Melamine exhaust treatment process and equipment. China. 2009.
18. Tang Y, Gong Y, Kun D, Mo Y, Rao D, Kuang X. A melamine tail gas treatment system. China. 2013.
19. Basha OM, Heintz YJ, Keller MJ, Luebke DR, Resnik KP, Morsi BI. Development of a conceptual process for selective capture of CO2 from fuel gas streams using two TEGO ionic liquids as physical solvents. Ind Eng Chem Res. 2014;53:3184–3195.
20. Shiflett MB, Drew DW, Cantini R, Yokozeki AJE. Carbon dioxide capture using ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate. Fuels. 2010;24:5781–5789.
21. Huang Y, Dong H, Zhang X, Li C, Zhang S. A new fragment contribution-corresponding states method for physicochemical properties prediction of ionic liquids. AIChE J. 2013;59:1348–1359.
22. Ruiz E, Ferro VR, de Riva J, Moreno D, Palomar J. Evaluation of ionic liquids as absorbents for ammonia absorption refrigeration cycles using COSMO-based process simulations. Appl Energy. 2014;123:281–291.
23. Shang D, Zhang X, Zeng S, Jiang K, Gao H, Dong H, et al. Protic ionic liquid [Bim][NTf2] with strong hydrogen bond donating ability for highly efficient ammonia absorption. Green Chem. 2017;19:937–945.
24. Shang D, Bai L, Zeng S, Dong H, Gao H, Zhang X, et al. Enhanced NH3 capture by imidazolium-based protic ionic liquids with different anions and cation substituents. J Chem Technol Biotechnol. 2018;93:1228–1236.
25. More RK, Bulasara VK, Uppaluri R, Banjara VR. Optimization of crude distillation system using Aspen Plus: Effect of binary feed selection on grass-root design. Chem Eng Res Des. 2010;88(2):121–134.
26. Tarighaleslami AH, Omidkhah MR, Ghannadzadeh A, Hoseinzadeh Hesas R. Thermodynamic evaluation of distillation columns using exergy loss profiles: a case study on the crude oil atmospheric distillation column. Clean Technol Environ Policy. 2012;14(3):381–387.
27. Basha OM, Keller MJ, Luebke DR, Resnik KP, Morsi BI. Development of a conceptual process for selective CO2 capture from fuel gas streams using [hmim][Tf2N] ionic liquid as a physical solvent. Energy Fuels. 2013;27(7):3905–3917.
28. Arachchige US, Mohsin M, Melaaen MC. Optimized CO2-flue gas separation model for a coal-fired power plant. Int J Energy Environ. 2013;4(1):39–48.
29. Adams TA, Barton PI. Combining coal gasification, natural gas reforming, and solid oxide fuel cells for efficient polygeneration with CO2 capture and sequestration. Fuel Process Technol. 2011;92(10):2105–2115.
30. Panda C. Aspen Plus simulation and experimental studies on biomass gasification. National Institute of Technology: Rourkela. 2012.
31. Ge X, Zhu Y, Wang S, Zhou J, Luo Z, Gu S. Thermodynamic simulation of direct DME synthesis via biomass gasification. Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference. Chengdu, China. 2010, March 28–31. 1–5. IEEE.
32. Ma C, Pietrucci F, Andreoni W. Capture and release of CO2 in monoethanolamine aqueous solutions: New insights from first-principles reaction dynamics. 2015;11(7):3189–3198.
33. Chen H, He Y, Zhu J, Alias H, Ding Y, Nancarrow P, et al. Rheological and heat transfer behavior of the ionic liquid, [C4mim] [NTf2]. Int J Heat Fluid Flow. 2008;29:149–155.
34. Tu W, Bai L, Zeng S, Gao H, Zhang S, Zhang X. An ionic fragments contribution-COSMO method to predict the surface charge density profiles of ionic liquids. J Mol Liq. 2019;282:292–302.
35. Prasad G, Reddy KM, Padamasuvarna R, Mohan TM, Krishna TV, Kumar VR. Thermophysical properties of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide with 2-ethoxyethanol from T= (298.15 to 323.15) K at atmospheric pressure. J Mol Liq. 2018;251:335–344.
36. Aboudheir A, Tontiwachwuthikul P, Chakma A, Idem R. Kinetics of the reactive absorption of carbon dioxide in high CO2-loaded, concentrated aqueous monoethanolamine solutions. Chem Eng Sci. 2003;58:5195–5210.
37. Canepa R, Wang M, Biliyok C, Satta A. Thermodynamic analysis of combined cycle gas turbine power plant with post-combustion CO2 capture and exhaust gas recirculation. J Process Mech Eng. 2012;227(2):89–105.
38. Pinsent BR, Pearson L, Roughton FJW. The kinetics of combination of carbon dioxide with hydroxide ions. Trans Faraday Soc. 1956;52:1512–1520.
39. Edwards TJ, Maurer G, Newman J, Prausnitz JM. Vapor-liquid equilibria in multicomponent aqueous solutions of volatile weak electrolytes. AIChE J. 1978;24:966–976.
40. Liu X, Huang Y, Zhao Y, Gani R, Zhang X, Zhang SJ. Ionic liquid design and process simulation for decarbonization of shale gas. Ind Eng Chem Res. 2017;55:5931–5944.

The waste gas from chemical plants, including urea fertilizer plant, contains a large amount of CO₂ gas in addition to NH₃ gas. New solvents have been studied for use in the absorption of waste gases, but most of them are carried out at specific compositions and flow rates for individual gases. In this paper, a complete conceptual design of the process for separately absorbing CO₂ and NH₃ gases in a waste gas feedstock stream with a broad range of CO₂ contents and flow rates is presented. To absorb this waste gas, a mixed absorbent solvent consisting of 1-butyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Bim][NTf₂]) and monoethanolamine (MEA) was used. The thermodynamic model and kinetic model of the new MEA-H₂O-CO₂-NH₃-ionic liquid (IL) system were constructed and rigorously modeled and simulated for different sources and compared with the conventional H2O-based process. Simulation results showed that the use of mixed solvents compared to conventional processes resulted in less total regeneration energy under all conditions regardless of CO2 content and flow rate and the effect of IL concentration on energy consumption and total regeneration energy with pressure in stripping column were analyzed, with 30% ionic liquid concentration and 180 kPa CO₂ stripping pressure and 240 kPa NH₃ stripping pressure. In addition, the total regeneration energy was analyzed after the process improvement to optimize the energy consumption of the process, which saved 2.9% of the energy at 40% CO₂ content. The [Bim] [NTf₂] + MEA+H₂O blend solvent proposed in this paper is a green mixed solvent that is very effective for the absorption of CO₂ and NH₃ mixed gases, which can be widely used not only for fertilizer plant waste gas treatment but also for other industries.

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. Olivier JG, Peters J. Trends in global CO2 and total greenhouse gas emissions - 2020 report. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. 2020;1–85.
2. Projected growth in CO2 emissions driven by countries outside the OECD. EIA, Editor. 2016.
3. Lindsey. Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide [Online]. N.O.a.A. Administration, Editor. 2019. Available from: Climate.gov.
4. Kang L, Shi L, Zeng Q, Liao B, Wang B, Guo X. Melamine resin-coated lignocellulose fibers with robust superhydrophobicity for highly effective oil/water separation. Sep Purif Technol. 2021;279:119737.
5. Zhang X, Wu Y, Liu X, Reis S, Jin J, Dragosits U, et al. Ammonia emissions may be substantially underestimated in China. Environ Sci Technol. 2017;51:12089–12096.
6. Wang M, Lawal A, Stephenson P, Sidders J, Ramshaw C. Post-combustion CO2 capture with chemical absorption: A state-of-the-art review. Chem Eng Res Des. 2011;89:1609–1624 .
7. Vega F, Baena-Moreno FM, Gallego Fernández LM, Portillo E, Navarrete B, Zhang Z. Current status of CO2 chemical absorption research applied to CCS: Towards full deployment at industrial scale. Appl Energy. 2020;260:114276.
8. Jiang W, Siyuan R, Yijing S, Qizhen L. Research and application of CCUS technology based on "double carbon" background. J Huazhong Univ Sci Technol (Nat Sci Ed). 2022;1–12.
9. Danielik V, Jurišová J, Fellner P, Štefancová R, Kučera M. Absorption of ammonia in the melt of ammonium nitrate. Chem Pap. 2018;72:3119–3128.
10. Sander R. Compilation of Henry’s law constants (version 4.0) for water as solvent. Atmos Chem Phys. 2015;15:4399–4981.
11. Higa M, Yamamoto EY, Oliveira JCD, Conceição WAS. Evaluation of the integration of an ammonia-water power cycle in an absorption refrigeration system of an industrial plant. Energy Convers Manag. 2018;178:265–276.
12. Joshi JA, Hogan JA, Cowan RM, Strom PF, Finstein MS. Biological removal of gaseous ammonia in biofilters: Space travel and earth-based applications. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2000;50:1647–1654.
13. Chung YC, Huang C, Tseng CP. Biological elimination of H2S and NH3 from waste gases by biofilter packed with immobilized heterotrophic bacteria. Chemosphere. 2001;43:1043–1050.
14. Lan T, Zhao Y, Deng J, Zhang J, Shi L, Zhang D. Selective catalytic oxidation of NH3 over noble metal-based catalysts: state of the art and future prospects. Catal Sci Technol. 2020;10:5792–5810.
15. Yeom C, Kim Y. Adsorption of ammonia using mesoporous alumina prepared by a templating method. Environ Eng Res. 2017;22:401–406.
16. Yang B, Bai L, Zeng S, Luo S, Liu L, Han J, et al. NH3 separation membranes with self-assembled gas highways induced by protic ionic liquids. Chem Eng J. 2021;421:127876.
17. Li F, Zhang Q, Chen P, Wang Y, Wei C, Zhang W. Melamine exhaust treatment process and equipment. China. 2009.
18. Tang Y, Gong Y, Kun D, Mo Y, Rao D, Kuang X. A melamine tail gas treatment system. China. 2013.
19. Basha OM, Heintz YJ, Keller MJ, Luebke DR, Resnik KP, Morsi BI. Development of a conceptual process for selective capture of CO2 from fuel gas streams using two TEGO ionic liquids as physical solvents. Ind Eng Chem Res. 2014;53:3184–3195.
20. Shiflett MB, Drew DW, Cantini R, Yokozeki AJE. Carbon dioxide capture using ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate. Fuels. 2010;24:5781–5789.
21. Huang Y, Dong H, Zhang X, Li C, Zhang S. A new fragment contribution-corresponding states method for physicochemical properties prediction of ionic liquids. AIChE J. 2013;59:1348–1359.
22. Ruiz E, Ferro VR, de Riva J, Moreno D, Palomar J. Evaluation of ionic liquids as absorbents for ammonia absorption refrigeration cycles using COSMO-based process simulations. Appl Energy. 2014;123:281–291.
23. Shang D, Zhang X, Zeng S, Jiang K, Gao H, Dong H, et al. Protic ionic liquid [Bim][NTf2] with strong hydrogen bond donating ability for highly efficient ammonia absorption. Green Chem. 2017;19:937–945.
24. Shang D, Bai L, Zeng S, Dong H, Gao H, Zhang X, et al. Enhanced NH3 capture by imidazolium-based protic ionic liquids with different anions and cation substituents. J Chem Technol Biotechnol. 2018;93:1228–1236.
25. More RK, Bulasara VK, Uppaluri R, Banjara VR. Optimization of crude distillation system using Aspen Plus: Effect of binary feed selection on grass-root design. Chem Eng Res Des. 2010;88(2):121–134.
26. Tarighaleslami AH, Omidkhah MR, Ghannadzadeh A, Hoseinzadeh Hesas R. Thermodynamic evaluation of distillation columns using exergy loss profiles: a case study on the crude oil atmospheric distillation column. Clean Technol Environ Policy. 2012;14(3):381–387.
27. Basha OM, Keller MJ, Luebke DR, Resnik KP, Morsi BI. Development of a conceptual process for selective CO2 capture from fuel gas streams using [hmim][Tf2N] ionic liquid as a physical solvent. Energy Fuels. 2013;27(7):3905–3917.
28. Arachchige US, Mohsin M, Melaaen MC. Optimized CO2-flue gas separation model for a coal-fired power plant. Int J Energy Environ. 2013;4(1):39–48.
29. Adams TA, Barton PI. Combining coal gasification, natural gas reforming, and solid oxide fuel cells for efficient polygeneration with CO2 capture and sequestration. Fuel Process Technol. 2011;92(10):2105–2115.
30. Panda C. Aspen Plus simulation and experimental studies on biomass gasification. National Institute of Technology: Rourkela. 2012.
31. Ge X, Zhu Y, Wang S, Zhou J, Luo Z, Gu S. Thermodynamic simulation of direct DME synthesis via biomass gasification. Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference. Chengdu, China. 2010, March 28–31. 1–5. IEEE.
32. Ma C, Pietrucci F, Andreoni W. Capture and release of CO2 in monoethanolamine aqueous solutions: New insights from first-principles reaction dynamics. 2015;11(7):3189–3198.
33. Chen H, He Y, Zhu J, Alias H, Ding Y, Nancarrow P, et al. Rheological and heat transfer behavior of the ionic liquid, [C4mim] [NTf2]. Int J Heat Fluid Flow. 2008;29:149–155.
34. Tu W, Bai L, Zeng S, Gao H, Zhang S, Zhang X. An ionic fragments contribution-COSMO method to predict the surface charge density profiles of ionic liquids. J Mol Liq. 2019;282:292–302.
35. Prasad G, Reddy KM, Padamasuvarna R, Mohan TM, Krishna TV, Kumar VR. Thermophysical properties of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide with 2-ethoxyethanol from T= (298.15 to 323.15) K at atmospheric pressure. J Mol Liq. 2018;251:335–344.
36. Aboudheir A, Tontiwachwuthikul P, Chakma A, Idem R. Kinetics of the reactive absorption of carbon dioxide in high CO2-loaded, concentrated aqueous monoethanolamine solutions. Chem Eng Sci. 2003;58:5195–5210.
37. Canepa R, Wang M, Biliyok C, Satta A. Thermodynamic analysis of combined cycle gas turbine power plant with post-combustion CO2 capture and exhaust gas recirculation. J Process Mech Eng. 2012;227(2):89–105.
38. Pinsent BR, Pearson L, Roughton FJW. The kinetics of combination of carbon dioxide with hydroxide ions. Trans Faraday Soc. 1956;52:1512–1520.
39. Edwards TJ, Maurer G, Newman J, Prausnitz JM. Vapor-liquid equilibria in multicomponent aqueous solutions of volatile weak electrolytes. AIChE J. 1978;24:966–976.
40. Liu X, Huang Y, Zhao Y, Gani R, Zhang X, Zhang SJ. Ionic liquid design and process simulation for decarbonization of shale gas. Ind Eng Chem Res. 2017;55:5931–5944.