Experimental Investigation and Numerical analysis of SO2 Removal Using Polypropylene Membrane Contactor

Abstract

In this study, polypropylene membrane contactor is designed for SO2 absorption of simulated flue gas. Water and the aqueous solution of Na2SO3 are used as an absorbent. Absorption performance of the longitudinal module is compared to novel transversal membrane contactor module. The result shows that the transversal configuration of hollow fiber module significantly enhances absorption performance over conventional longitudinal configuration. Absorption flux of SO2 in aqueous Na2SO2 is 1.8 times higher than water at optimum Na2SO3 concentration and gas flow rate. According to performance stability test, polypropylene hollow fiber membrane is successfully operated for 15 hours maintaining average absorption flux of 20 x 10-5 mol.m-2.s-1. Numerical simulation shows good agreement with physical absorption data.