Development of Hydraulic Models, Mass Transfer Models, and Dynamic Models of Solvent-Based Carbon Capture Processes with Uncertainty Quantification and Validation with Pilot Plant Data

Abstract

To accelerate the development and commercial deployment of CO2 capture technologies, computational tools and models are being developed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI). The CCSI process modeling team was tasked with developing a "gold-standard" model that will serve as a definitive reference for benchmarking the performance of solvent-based CO2 capture systems under steady-state and dynamic conditions over a large operating-range. The main three areas that this work focused on are: development of the hydrodynamic and mass transfer submodels for a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent system, uncertainty quantification of these submodels, development of a dynamic model for this system, and development of a dynamic design of experiment methodology for model validation and parameter estimation of this system. For the gold-standard model, it was desired that the pressure drop and holdup models must be applicable over a wide range of operating conditions. In this work, a large range of liquid and gas flowrates, and wide range of viscosity and density for the liquid phase are considered and an optimal model is developed. The pressure drop and holdup models are also evaluated with data from numerous process scales. Seeking to accomplish a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at West Virginia University has showed me much more than the scientific contributions in this document. I had an unexpected growth in perspective and perception through all the experiences I had since I joined the program in 2013, and God's grace has been generously put in my life in the form of the many I am thankful for. I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Debangsu Bhattacharyya, for being an example of a great mentor, showing how an engineering researcher should look at (and question) the world. He pushed me to be able to achieve goals that I misjudged as unfeasible, and I am grateful for all the confidence deposited in me. I also would like to thank my Advisory and Examining Committee members (Dr.