Comparative analysis of absorbents in the chemical absorption method for CO ₂ capture in converter gas

Converter steelmaking plays a crucial role in steel production, and the converter gas produced by this process is rich in carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide capture of this converter gas is important for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the steel industry. To achieve this objective, a carbon capture model was developed in this study using Aspen Plus software, and four common absorbents, namely monoethanolamine (MEA), n-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), diethanolamine (DEA) and K 2 CO 3 , were selected to investigate their effects on the absorption and desorption processes by examining the parameters of absorbent temperature and concentration, absorption pressure, reboiler heat load and regeneration pressure. The regeneration energy consumption of four absorbents after CO 2 desorption was comparatively analysed, and the absorbents with good overall performance were selected. The results show that under the same conditions, the absorption and desorption properties of the four absorbents have their advantages and disadvantages, with the MEA solution having a better absorption effect, the DEA solution having a better desorption effect and the MEA solution having a better overall performance when comparing the regeneration energy consumption required for the process. Therefore, the MEA solution is more suitable for the application of converter gas decarbonisation.