Source: http://patents.com/us-9901871.html
Timestamp: 2018-03-20 17:54:06
Document Index: 225393310

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 22', 'art 24', 'art 25', 'art 22', 'art 24', 'art 24', 'art 42', 'art 43', 'art 43', 'art 44', 'art 43', 'art 43', 'art 44', 'art 43', 'art 42', 'art 44', 'art 43', 'art 44', 'art 44']

US Patent # 9,901,871. System for chemically absorbing carbon dioxide in combustion exhaust gas - Patents.com
United States Patent 9,901,871
Higashi , et al. February 27, 2018
A carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) chemical absorption system comprising: a CO.sub.2 absorption column for separating CO.sub.2 from combustion exhaust gas by absorbing the CO.sub.2 in the combustion exhaust gas with a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid mainly composed of an aqueous alkanolamine solution; a regeneration column for regenerating the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid by desorbing CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2; a condenser for condensing water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas discharged from the top of the regeneration column, thereby obtaining reflux water; a pipe for returning all or part of the reflux water obtained by the condenser to the top of the regeneration column, and dispersing the reflux water in the regeneration column; a collection plate for collecting the reflux water dispersed in an upper portion of a packed bed in the regeneration column; a pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid from the bottom of the regeneration column to the top of the absorption column; and a pipe for joining the reflux water collected by the collection plate into the pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid.
Higashi; Hideaki (Hiroshima, JP), Shimamura; Jun (Hiroshima, JP), Kobayashi; Kazuki (Hiroshima, JP)
Family ID: 1000003140245
14/382,947
PCT/JP2013/001190
WO2013/132789
US 20150030516 A1 Jan 29, 2015
Mar 5, 2012 [JP] 2012-047958
Current CPC Class: B01D 53/62 (20130101); B01D 53/1425 (20130101); B01D 53/1475 (20130101); Y02C 10/06 (20130101); B01D 2259/65 (20130101); Y02C 10/04 (20130101); B01D 2252/20478 (20130101)
Current International Class: B01D 53/62 (20060101); B01D 53/14 (20060101)
3268420 August 1966 Webber
4035166 July 1977 Van Hecke
2010/0229723 September 2010 Gelowitz
2009-179546 Aug 2009 JP
2012-000538 Jan 2012 JP
2012-011333 Jan 2012 JP
International Search Report of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/001190 dated May 14, 2013, 7 pages. cited by applicant.
1. A carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) chemical absorption system comprising: a CO.sub.2 absorption column for separating CO.sub.2 from combustion exhaust gas by absorbing the CO.sub.2 in the combustion exhaust gas with a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid mainly composed of an aqueous alkanolamine solution; a regeneration column for regenerating the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid by desorbing CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2, wherein the regeneration column comprises a packed bed, a water washing part over the packed bed and a reboiler, and the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2 is fed to a top portion of the packed bed; a condenser for condensing water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas discharged from the top of the regeneration column, thereby obtaining reflux water; a pipe for returning all or part of the reflux water obtained by the condenser to the top of the regeneration column, and for dispersing the reflux water to the water washing part in the regeneration column; a collection plate for collecting the reflux water dispersed to the water washing part in the regeneration column, and for preventing the dispersed reflux water from flowing into the packed bed; a pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid from the bottom of the regeneration column to the top of a packed bed in the absorption column; and a pipe for joining the reflux water collected by the collection plate into the pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid.
2. A carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) chemical absorption system comprising: a CO.sub.2 absorption column for separating CO.sub.2 from combustion exhaust gas by absorbing the CO.sub.2 in the combustion exhaust gas with a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid mainly composed of an aqueous alkanolamine solution; a regeneration column for regenerating the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid by desorbing CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2, wherein the regeneration column comprises a packed bed, a water washing part over the packed bed and a reboiler, and the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2 is fed to a top portion of the packed bed; a condenser for condensing water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas discharged from the top of the regeneration column, thereby obtaining reflux water; a pipe for returning a part of the reflux water obtained by the condenser to the top of the regeneration column, and for dispersing the reflux water to the water washing part in the regeneration column; an instrument for measuring the temperature in the top portion of the packed bed in the regeneration column, and for controlling the flow rate of the reflux water dispersed to the water washing part in the regeneration column so that the temperature is a predetermined value; a pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid from the bottom of the regeneration column to the top of a packed bed in the absorption column; and a pipe for joining the remaining reflux water obtained by the condenser into the pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid.
The present invention relates to a system for chemically absorbing carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) from combustion exhaust gas generated in combustion equipment, such as a boiler. More specifically, the present invention relates to the structure of a regeneration column of a CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system, and the system structure of peripheral devices of the regeneration column.
Thermal power generation facilities and boiler facilities generate a quantity of carbon dioxide as a result of burning a large amount of fuel, such as coal, heavy oil and the like. From the viewpoint of air pollution or global warming, many countries promote the regulation of large emissions of carbon dioxide (hereinafter abbreviated as "CO.sub.2"). As a technique for separating and recovering CO.sub.2, a chemical absorption method using an aqueous alkanolamine solution as a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid is widely known. FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a power generation plant comprising a conventional CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system. The power generation plant generally comprises at least boiler 1, denitration device 2, air heater 3, electrical dust collector 4, desulfurization device 5, prescrubber 10, CO.sub.2 absorption column 20, regeneration column 40, and reboiler 60. Nitrogen oxides in combustion exhaust gas (e.g., produced from coal combustion) discharged from the boiler 1 are removed in the denitration device 2, and the combustion exhaust gas is then cooled to, for example, 120 to 170.degree. C. by heat exchange with the air heater 3. After the exhaust gas passes through the air heater 3, dust is removed from the exhaust gas by the electrical dust collector 4, and sulfur oxides (SO.sub.2) are removed by the desulfurization device 5. About tens of ppm of SO.sub.2 may remain in the exhaust gas at the outlet of the desulfurization device 5; thus, in order to prevent deterioration of the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid in the CO.sub.2 absorption column 20 by the remaining SO.sub.2, the remaining SO.sub.2 is reduced to as minimum as possible (e.g., 10 ppm or less) by the prescrubber 10, which is provided as a pretreatment facility in the CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system.
The CO.sub.2 absorption column 20 comprises at least packed bed 21, absorbing liquid feed part 22, water washing part 24, washing water feed part 25, mist eliminator 26, washing water collector 27, washing water cooler 28, and washing water pump 29. In the packed bed 21, CO.sub.2 contained in the exhaust gas is brought into gas-liquid contact with the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid fed from the absorbing liquid feed part 22 in the upper portion of the CO.sub.2 absorption column 20, and the CO.sub.2 is absorbed by the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid. The heat generated during CO.sub.2 absorption raises the temperature of the combustion exhaust gas from which CO.sub.2 has been removed. In the water washing part 24, the combustion exhaust gas from which CO.sub.2 has been removed is cooled, and mist entrained in the gas is removed. The washing water cooled by the washing water cooler 28 is used circularly by the washing water pump 29. The mist eliminator 26 disposed above the water washing part 24 removes the entrained mist that has not been removed in the water washing part. The combustion exhaust gas processed with the above removal treatment is discharged out of the system as treatment gas 37 (CO.sub.2-removal gas).
The absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2 (also referred to as "CO.sub.2-rich liquid") is extracted by a pump 33 from a liquid storage part in the lower portion of the absorption column 20, heated by a heat exchanger 34, and then sent to the regeneration column 40. In the regeneration column 40, the CO.sub.2-rich liquid is fed to a packed bed 41 from a feed part 42. On the other hand, in the bottom of the regeneration column 40, vapor of the absorbing liquid is fed to the packed bed 41 from the reboiler 60 through a vapor feed pipe 65. In the packed bed 41, the rich liquid and the absorbing liquid vapor are brought into gas-liquid contact to desorb CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2-rich liquid. Since the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas may entrain mist of the absorbing liquid, the mist is removed and the CO.sub.2 gas is cooled in a water washing part 43. The entrained mist that has not been removed in the water washing part is removed by a mist eliminator 45 disposed above the water washing part 43. The CO.sub.2 gas 46 from which the mist has been removed is discharged from the upper portion of the regeneration column 40. Thereafter, water vapor entrained in the CO.sub.2 gas is cooled by a condenser 47, and separated into gas and condensed water (reflux water) by a reflux water drum 48. The CO.sub.2 gas is introduced into a CO.sub.2-liquefying facility (not shown). The condensed water (reflux water) is fed to a washing water feed part 44 by a drain pump 50.
On the other hand, the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid from which CO.sub.2 has been desorbed (also referred to as "lean liquid") is stored in a liquid collector 51 in the regeneration column. A part of the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid is sent to the reboiler 60 through a reboiler liquid feed pipe 52. The reboiler 60 is provided with a heat exchanger tube, etc., therein. The CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid is indirectly heated by water vapor 62 fed through a water vapor feed pipe, thereby generating vapor of the absorbing liquid in the reboiler 60. The absorbing liquid vapor is fed to the regeneration column 40 through the absorbing liquid vapor feed pipe 65 mentioned above. The water vapor used in the reboiler 60 is condensed in the heat exchanger tube, and collected as drain water. The lean liquid stored in the liquid storage part at the bottom of the regeneration column 40 is cooled by the heat exchanger 34 and a cooler 30 through a liquid extraction pipe 66, and then fed to the CO.sub.2 absorption column.
In the conventional regeneration column 40, the reflux water returned to the regeneration column 40 from CO.sub.2 separation drum (reflux water drum) 48 is brought into direct contact with the gas in the water washing part 43, and then added dropwise to the packed bed 41 to condense a part of the absorbing liquid vapor fed from the reboiler 60. This is uneconomical in that the reflux water, which is not essentially necessary to be heated, is unnecessarily heated.
In the above conventional technique, the reflux water after cooling the gas is brought into direct contact with the absorbing liquid vapor fed from the reboiler in the packed bed; thus, a part of the thermal energy from the reboiler, which should essentially be used for the CO.sub.2 desorption reaction, was used to heat the reflux water.
An object of the present invention is to reduce energy consumption in the entire CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system by effectively using the absorbing liquid vapor fed from the reboiler, while maintaining the gas cooling capacity and amine mist removal capacity inherent in the reflux water.
The invention claimed in the present application to achieve the above object is as follows.
[1] A carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) chemical absorption system comprising: a CO.sub.2 absorption column for separating CO.sub.2 from combustion exhaust gas by absorbing the CO.sub.2 in the combustion exhaust gas with a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid mainly composed of an aqueous alkanolamine solution; a regeneration column for regenerating the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid by desorbing CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2; a condenser for condensing water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas discharged from the top of the regeneration column, thereby obtaining reflux water; a pipe for returning all or part of the reflux water obtained by the condenser to the top of the regeneration column, and dispersing the reflux water in the regeneration column; a collection plate for collecting the reflux water dispersed in an upper portion of a packed bed in the regeneration column; a pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid from the bottom of the regeneration column to the top of the absorption column; and a pipe for joining the reflux water collected by the collection plate into the pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid.
[2] A carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) chemical absorption system comprising: a CO.sub.2 absorption column for separating CO.sub.2 from combustion exhaust gas by absorbing the CO.sub.2 in the combustion exhaust gas with a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid mainly composed of an aqueous alkanolamine solution; a regeneration column for regenerating the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid by desorbing CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2; a condenser for condensing water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas discharged from the top of the regeneration column, thereby obtaining reflux water; a pipe for returning a part of the reflux water obtained by the condenser to the top of the regeneration column, and dispersing the reflux water in the regeneration column; a means for measuring the temperature of an upper portion of a packed bed in the regeneration column, and controlling the flow rate of the reflux water dispersed in the regeneration column so that the temperature is a predetermined value; a pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid from the bottom of the regeneration column to the top of the absorption column; and a pipe for joining the remaining reflux water obtained by the condenser into the pipe for sending the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid.
[3] A method of carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) chemical absorption comprising the steps of: separating CO.sub.2 from combustion exhaust gas by absorbing the CO.sub.2 in the combustion exhaust gas with a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid mainly composed of an aqueous alkanolamine solution; regenerating the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid by desorbing CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2; condensing water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas, thereby obtaining reflux water; dispersing all or part of the reflux water obtained by the condensation step to the CO.sub.2 gas desorbed in the regeneration step to cool the CO.sub.2 gas and remove absorbing liquid mist entrained in the CO.sub.2 gas; collecting the dispersed reflux water to prevent the dispersed reflux water from being involved in the regeneration step; and mixing the collected reflux water with the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid.
[4] A method of carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) chemical absorption comprising the steps of: separating CO.sub.2 from combustion exhaust gas by absorbing the CO.sub.2 in the combustion exhaust gas with a CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid mainly composed of an aqueous alkanolamine solution; regenerating the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid by desorbing CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid that has absorbed CO.sub.2; condensing water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas, thereby obtaining reflux water; dispersing a part of the reflux water obtained by the condensation step to the CO.sub.2 gas desorbed in the regeneration step to cool the CO.sub.2 gas and remove absorbing liquid mist entrained in the CO.sub.2 gas; measuring the temperature of the CO.sub.2 gas desorbed in the regeneration step, and controlling the flow rate of the dispersed reflux water so that the temperature is a predetermined value; and mixing the remaining reflux water obtained by the condensation step with the regenerated CO.sub.2 absorbing liquid.
The present invention can reduce the absorbing liquid vapor that should be fed from the reboiler 40 to the regeneration column 20; consequently, this can reduce the amount of water vapor fed from the plant vapor system to the reboiler. That is, upon reduction in the amount of reflux water added dropwise to the packed bed for CO.sub.2 desorption, the heat of the absorbing liquid vapor fed from the reboiler is only applied to the CO.sub.2-rich liquid; consequently, this can reduce the amount of heat used to heat the reflux water. Therefore, when the CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system of the present invention is installed, the energy loss in the entire power plant can be reduced.
FIG. 1 an apparatus flow diagram showing one embodiment of a CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system in the present invention.
FIG. 2 an apparatus flow diagram showing another embodiment of a CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system in the present invention.
FIG. 3 an apparatus flow diagram showing the structure of a conventional CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system.
FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system according to the present invention. The difference from the conventional system shown in FIG. 3 is that a reflux water collection plate 70 is provided directly below the water washing part packed bed 43 in the regeneration column 40 so that the liquid collected by the reflux water collection plate 70 is returned to the pipe 66 from the regeneration column 40 toward the absorption column 20.
The absorbing liquid vapor fed from the reboiler 60 passes through an absorbing liquid collection plate 51, and is sent to the packed bed 41. In the packed bed 41, the absorbing liquid vapor and a CO.sub.2-rich liquid are brought into direct contact to desorb CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2-rich liquid. Water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas passes through the reflux water collection plate 70 and is fed to the water washing part 43, wherein the water vapor is cooled and amine mist is removed. The mist is further removed by the mist eliminator 45, and the gas is discharged from the regeneration column 40. The discharged gas is cooled by the condenser 47, and separated into gas and condensed water. In the reflux water drum 48, the CO.sub.2 gas is sent out of the system, and the condensed water (reflux water) is returned to the system. The reflux water separated in the reflux water drum 48 passes through the pump 50, and is dispersed from the water washing feed part 44 in the regeneration column. The reflux water is used to cool the gas and to remove the amine mist in the water washing part 43. Thereafter, the reflux water is collected by the collection plate 70 provided above the packed bed 41 (preferably in a position higher than the feed part 42). The collected reflux water is joined to the absorbing liquid in the pipe 66 located before the cooler 30. The water balance of the entire system is maintained in this manner. Here, a pipe 71 extending from the reflux water collection plate 70 to the joining part of the reflux water and the lean liquid is optionally provided with a pump 73, a resister (e.g., a valve 74), and a liquid storage drum. In this embodiment, the reflux water and the absorbing liquid are joined before they reach the cooler 30; however, the reflux water may be joined to the absorbing liquid at any place in a lean liquid line extending from the outlet of the reboiler 60 to the inlet of the absorption column 20.
FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the CO.sub.2 chemical absorption system according to the present invention. The differences from the conventional system shown in FIG. 3 are that as a feed pipe for the reflux water from the CO.sub.2 collection drum 48, a line 76 is provided, in addition to the feed line to the water washing part packed bed 43, so as to feed the reflux water to the pipe 66 before the cooler 30 without passing through the packed bed 41; and that a thermometer 72 is provided in the upper portion of the packed bed 41, and valves 74 and 75 are adjusted to control the amount of reflux water fed to the line 76 and the water washing feed part 44 so that the temperature measured by the thermometer is a predetermined value.
The absorbing liquid vapor fed from the reboiler 60 passes through the absorbing liquid collection plate 51, and is sent to the packed bed 41. In the packed bed 41, the absorbing liquid vapor and a CO.sub.2-rich liquid are brought into direct contact to desorb CO.sub.2 gas from the CO.sub.2-rich liquid. Water vapor entrained in the desorbed CO.sub.2 gas is fed to the water washing part 43, wherein the water vapor is cooled and amine mist is removed. The mist is further removed by the mist eliminator 45, and the gas is discharged from the regeneration column 40. The discharged gas is cooled by the condenser 47, and separated into gas and condensed water. In the reflux water drum 48, the CO.sub.2 gas is sent out of the system, and the condensed water (reflux water) is returned to the system. In this case, the liquid temperature is measured by the thermometer 72 provided in the upper portion of the packed bed 41, and the amount of reflux water dispersed from the water washing feed part 44 is controlled so that the liquid temperature is 100.degree. C., for example. The excess reflux water is returned to the absorbing liquid line 66 via the line 76, without passing through the packed bed 41. The water balance of the entire system is maintained in this manner. Here, the pipe extending from the reflux water drum 48 to the water washing feed part 44, and the pipe 76 extending from the reflux water drum 48 to the joining part of the reflux water and the lean liquid are optionally provided with a resister (e.g., a valve) and a liquid storage drum. In this embodiment, the reflux water and the absorbing liquid are joined before they reach the cooler 30; however, the reflux water may be joined to the absorbing liquid at any place in the lean liquid line extending from the outlet of the reboiler 60 to the inlet of the absorption column 20.
Although a collection plate 42 is not provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the collection plate 42 may be further provided, if necessary, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, so that the reflux water collected by the collection plate 42 and the reflux water the flow rate of which has been controlled by the valve 75 may be joined to the lean liquid.
20: Absorbing liquid 30: Cooler 40: Regeneration column 41: Packed bed 43: Water washing part packed bed 51: Absorbing liquid collection plate 60: Reboiler 70: Reflux water collection plate 72: Thermometer 74, 75: Valves
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