Chemical Engineering October 2015 - 22

of solvent volume and weight. IL basicity
was another key design factor.
The team also found that formulating
the IL solvent with a nearly equimolar
volume of water enhanced the CO2
solubility, as water participates in the
chemical mechanism of the process
and slightly decreases the viscosity of
the IL-water formulation.
After examining numerous IL formulations,
QUILL's studies indicated
that
tributylmethylphosphonium
propanoate was the most viable
IL candidate for CO2-capture processes.
The team worked with the
U.k. branch of engineering consultancy
company WorleyParsons
Ltd. (North Sydney, Australia; www.
worleyparsons.com) for an in-depth
analysis of the IL-based CO2-capture
process, and their findings indicated
that, when compared with one
of the most effective conventional
CO2 absorption processes (containing
activated methyl diethanolamine),
the IL-based process (utilizing tributylmethylphosphonium
propanoate),
actually had lower operating costs.
QUILL
(including CO2)
+
Gas
Source of emission
IL
Compression of gas
CO2
Gas
IL
Compression
CO2 physical absorption
De-CO2
IL (CO2)
(arbitrary
pressure)
IL (CO2)
IL
Decompression
CO2 capture
IL recovery
FIGURE 4. A proposed IL-based carbon-capture system has many benefits over conventional absorption
processes
Added bonuses were reduced heat
input, the absence of corrosion and
equivalent selectivity and stability.
According to QUILL's Natalia Plechkova,
the process has been demonstrated
at both laboratory and semipilot
scale, and two patents have
been filed as a result of the research.
The next steps for scaleup, says
Plechkova, will be to reduce the viscosity
of the system and to change
existing equipment to adapt to the
new ionic liquid technologies. These
findings are especially significant to
the natural-gas industry, due to the
restrictive regulations surrounding
amines in some parts of the world.
Scientists from QUILL were also
involved in the development of HycaPure
Hg, a now commercialized
technology that applies ILs to
remove mercury from natural gas
streams. The HycaPure process
was developed in partnership with
Petronas, which has been operating
the technology at commercial
scale in its own facilities in Malaysia
since 2011. In 2014, Clariant (Muttenz,
Switzerland; www.clariant.com)
signed a marketing license agreement
for the technology to expand its
reach internationally.
Naturally occurring in many hydrocarbon
streams, mercury is a toxic
Isolation
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Chemical Engineering October 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering October 2015