Abstract:
With the continuous rise in global CO2 emissions, the issue of climate change has become increasingly severe. As a key pathway to achieving large-scale carbon emission reduction, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology features the organic amine chemical absorption method as the mainstream technology for post-combustion CO2 capture due to its high capture efficiency. However, the core bottleneck of this technology lies in the excessively high energy consumption during the absorbent regeneration process, which severely restricts its industrial application. To break through this bottleneck, researchers have developed a diversified system of energy-saving technologies focused on reducing regeneration energy consumption. This paper systematically reviews three major categories of energy-saving technical routes in the field of amine-based CO2 capture: (1) Absorbent optimization, which has evolved from traditional single-component amines to blended amines, non-aqueous amines and phase-change amines. By regulating the reaction heat and specific heat capacity of the solution, the consumption of sensible heat and latent heat for regeneration is significantly reduced. Among them, phase-change amine absorbents exhibit outstanding energy-saving potential by enabling selective heating of CO2-enriched products, yet their operational stability and long-term cycling performance in multiphase systems still require further improvement. (2) Process intensification, where inter-stage cooling and rich solvent recycling are introduced in the absorber to suppress temperature rise during absorption and enhance CO2 loading of the rich solvent. In the desorber, strategies such as rich solvent splitting, flash evaporation, inter-stage heat integration and heat pump coupling are adopted to achieve efficient waste heat recovery. Among these, heat pump coupling can reduce regeneration energy consumption by more than 30%, but the economic efficiency of the system and the complexity of equipment integration remain major obstacles to large-scale application. (3) Novel regeneration technologies, including amine-based hollow fiber membrane contactors, microwave-assisted regeneration, photothermal-driven regeneration and electrochemical regeneration. By replacing high-temperature thermal regeneration or intensifying mass transfer processes, these technologies show potential for further energy reduction. Nevertheless, most are still at the laboratory or pilot scale, facing challenges such as membrane material stability, photothermal conversion efficiency and durability of electrochemical systems. In addition, this paper discusses the scale-up pathways of the above energy-saving technologies from laboratory research to industrial application, and analyzes key issues concerning technical economy and engineering adaptability. Finally, future research directions are prospected from three aspects: improvement of absorbent performance, integrated optimization of process flows, and stability and economic evaluation of emerging technologies, aiming to provide references for the development of efficient and low-energy-consumption amine-based CO2 capture technologies.