Advanced CO2 Capture from Flue Gas by Promoting Amine Solvent Regeneration Using Dual-Functional Graphitized Packing

Abstract Amine-based CO2 capture from flue gas provides a reliable approach for industrial emission reduction, but still suffers from a high energy penalty due to high-temperature regeneration. Catalytic amine solvent regeneration has emerged as an effective strategy to enhance the CO2 reaction kinetics at mild temperatures. However, the current powder catalysts face challenges of heat transfer limitations and weak durability in the practical packing stripper. Herein, we prepared a dual-functional stainless-steel packing with efficient heat transfer and catalytic activity through an in situ carbon modification strategy from an industrial perspective. The micron-thick graphitic carbon layer increases the heat conduction rate by 61.7%, while the active Fe sites (Fe–O–C) within the carbon layer reduce the energy barrier for CO2 desorption by 36.5%. Moreover, the catalytic packing exhibits universal applicability for various amine solvents and excellent stability during a four-week hydrothermal experiment. The pilot-scale experiments (∼150 N m3 h–1 flue gas) demonstrate that the modified packing could reduce the energy consumption to as low as 2.18 GJ per tCO2, decreased by 28.8% compared to the blank case. The industrial-scale process simulation provides an efficient route for integration of low-grade waste-heat utilization and catalytic solvent regeneration, achieving a 49.4% reduction in the total operating cost of carbon capture (∼$16.2 per tCO2).