Finding Sustainable Deep Eutectic Solvents for an Efficient Separation of CO2 and NH3 in Melamine Production with Soft-SAFT
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Industrial processes frequently release tail gases containing harmful components, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and ammonia (NH 3 ), with significant environmental implications. Effective separation and recovery of these gases are critical for reducing pollution and enhancing resource efficiency. This paper investigates the use of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) to capture and separate CO 2 and NH 3 from melamine production tail gases, offering an alternative to traditional methods such as coproduction systems and water scrubbing. Choline chloride ([Ch]Cl)-based solvents with ethylene glycol (EG), urea (UR), and glycerol (GL) are assessed for selective gas absorption using the soft-SAFT Equation of State (EoS). This approach has been used to model the solubility of CO 2 and NH 3 in these DESs and evaluate key properties, including absorption isotherms, enthalpy, entropy of dissolution, effective Henry’s constants, and ideal selectivity. Results reveal that the presence of EG enhances the NH 3 absorption capacity, while UR shows higher CO 2 absorption. From this information, the competitive selectivity in a standard melamine tail gas mixture (60% NH 3 and 40% CO 2 in mole fraction) and DESs has been predicted. Among them, [Ch]Cl:EG shows the best selectivity, and the 1:7 proportion provides the optimal value for NH 3 /CO 2 separation. This work highlights the potential of DESs for efficient gas separation, emphasizing the utility of molecular modeling as a precursor to experimental validation in the design of sustainable separation processes.
Language: English
Subfield: Catalysis
Field: Chemical Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: European Commission, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Petrobras, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Repsol, Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, NextGenerationEU
Awards: G1207375514, G132186627, G16923493, G1799927510, G2038104832, G2355262757, G288263039, G318412399, G430428753, G4728539003, G4993905653, G5195188938, G544768056, G558941863, G5779771523, G5852091828, G611330818, G6520718613, G7391010604, G7604509605, G7683980506, G7759075479, G79895852, G8157712651, G863151887
OpenAlex ID: W4413989377