Theoretical modeling of enzyme-enhanced CO₂ mass transfer in carbonate solutions using hollow fiber membrane contactors: A numerical approach

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is one of the major contributors to climate change, whose atmospheric concentration has recently increased significantly due to immense burning of fossil fuels. This study deals with simulating the 2D of enzyme SspCA-CO₂ (Sulfurihydrogenibium sp. carbonic anhydrase) capture process by using carbonate solution (Na₂CO₃-NaHCO 3 ) as a chemical solvent in a counter-current membrane contactor with and without SspCA. A parametric analysis is also conducted to evaluate the effects of various parameters on the CO₂ capture process, including enzyme concentration, gas flow rate of CO 2 , liquid flow rate and porosity of membrane. The results indicate that the CO₂ capture efficiency using 0.5 M of carbonate solution (0.5 Na 2 CO 3 - NaHCO 3 ) increases by 16% with 5 mg/L of SspCA. Increasing the gas flow rate of CO 2 from 10 mL/min to 40 mL/min reduces CO₂ removal by 25%. Increasing the liquid flow rate of 0.5 M (Na₂CO₃-NaHCO 3 ) from 10 mL/min to 40 mL/min with 5 mg/L SspCA improves CO₂ removal by 16%. Additionally, increasing porosity leads to increased CO 2 removal and flux. This unique technique work seeks to examine the effects of HFMC and enzyme SspCA on CO 2 removal. this novel approach work aims to investigate the effect of HFMC and enzyme for seeing the effect of those in term of CO 2 removal (Separation) and CO 2 flux. • Incorporation of SspCA carbonic anhydrase enzyme enhances CO₂ hydration, improving flux absorption and removal efficiency of CO 2 in carbonate solutions (Na₂CO₃-NaHCO₃). • A hollow fiber membrane process was modeled to evaluate the impact of enzymatic reaction on CO₂ capture, considering fluid dynamics, reaction kinetics, and mass transfer. • The study investigates the effects of membrane’s porosity, gas flow rate of CO 2 , liquid flow rate and SspCA effect with carbonate solution on flux absorbed and CO₂ removal efficiency.