Degradation inhibitors and metal additives: impact on solvent degradation

This report is part of a PhD thesis currently taking place at the University of Liège in collaboration with the company Laborelec. A Degradation Test Rig (DTR) has been built in order to evaluate solvent degradation in CO2 capture conditions. Details about degradation effects and about the DTR may be found in a previous report (PhD mid-term report, G. Léonard, 2011). Experiments to study the effect of process conditions on degradation are in progress with 2-ethanolamine (MEA) as benchmark solvent.

This report presents first a brief overview of the different degradation mechanisms and associated products, followed by a literature review about metal influence on MEA degradation and a state of the art review about degradation inhibitors.