Influence of Polyethylene Oxide on Absorption of Carbon Dioxide into Aqueous Diethanolamine Solution

Abstract

Carbon dioxide was absorbed into aqueous polyethylene oxide (PEO) solution containing diethanolamine (DEA) in a flat‐stirred vessel to investigate the effect of non‐Newtonian rheological behavior of PEO on the chemical absorption rate of CO₂, where the reaction between CO₂ and DEA was assumed to be a first‐order reaction with respect to the concentration of CO₂ and DEA, respectively. A unified correlation equation containing Deborah number, which reflects the viscoelastic properties of the non‐Newtonian liquid, was used to obtain the volumetric liquid‐side mass transfer coefficient of carbon dioxide in aqueous PEO solution. The elastic properties of PEO accelerated the absorption rate of CO₂ compared with that of a Newtonian liquid based on the same values of viscosity.

Keywords:

• Absorption
• carbon dioxide
• polyethylene oxide
• diethanolamine
• viscoelastic liquid

Acknowledgments

This work was supported with the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) through ARC and Brain Korea 21 Project.