Rigorous
process models are critical for reducing the risk and
uncertainty of scaling up a new technology. It is essential to quantify
uncertainty in key submodels so that uncertainty in the overall model
can be appropriately characterized. In solvent-based postcombustion
CO2 capture technologies, mass transfer and column hydraulics
are key factors affecting the performance of the absorber. Developing
submodels for mass transfer, column hydraulics, and reactions is a
challenging multiscale problem since the phenomena are tightly coupled
and it is difficult to design experiments to isolate each properly.
In particular, simultaneous mass transfer coupled with fast reaction
kinetics makes it difficult to measure the mass transfer rate and
reactions rate individually. The typical approach to solving this
issue is to use proxy systems to conduct experiments under mass-transfer-limited
or reaction-limited conditions. This approach can lead to inaccurate
mass transfer submodels. In this paper, a novel simultaneous regression
approach is proposed where submodels for mass transfer, diffusivity,
interfacial area, and reaction kinetics are optimally identified using
experimental data from multiple scales and operating conditions. Since
all models have some level of uncertainty, a rigorous uncertainty
quantification (UQ) technique is implemented for the hydraulic and
mass transfer submodels based on Bayesian inference. Posterior distributions
of submodel parameters are propagated through the column model to
obtain the uncertainty bounds on critical performance measures.