This work investigates the reason behind the change of CO₂ absorption behaviour exhibited by monoethanolamine (MEA) solution via mathematical modeling analysis when physical absorbent, i.e. n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), was added into the solution. The mathematical modeling included the heat model using time resolved numerical method. Based on the results, it was found that lower CO₂ removal performance with the addition of NMP into MEA solution at pressure of 0.1 MPa was mainly due to the lower temperature rise along the column, which resulted in lower reaction rate. However, at 3 and 5 MPa pressure conditions, the high physical absorption capability contributed by the presence of NMP in MEA hybrid solution enhanced the CO₂ absorption performance of MEA hybrid solution significantly. As such, temperature rise of solution was identified as the dominating factor affecting the performance of the hybrid solvent. The reaction rate of MEA was not affected by the addition of physical solvent. This finding shed crucial insight on the behaviour MEA-NMP hybrid solution which can be applied during scale-up of the process.
