Corrosion in CO2 post-combustion capture with alkanolamines – a review

Abstract

CO2 capture and storage plays an important part in industrial strategies for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 post-combustion capture with alkanolamines is well adapted for the treatment of large industrial point sources using combustion of fossil fuels for power generation, like coal or gas fired power plants, or the steel and cement industries. It is also one of the most mature technologies to date, since similar applications are already found in other types of industries like acid gas separation, although not at the same scale. Operation of alkanolamine units for CO2 capture in combustion fumes presents several challenges, among which corrosion control plays a great part. It is the aim of this paper to present a review of current knowledge on this specific aspect. In a first part, lessons learnt from several decades of use of alkanolamines for natural gas separation in the oil and gas industry are discussed. Then, the specificities of CO2 post-combustion capture are presented, and their consequences on corrosion risks are discussed. Corrosion mitigation strategies, and research and development efforts to find new and more efficient solvents are also highlighted. In a last part, concerns about CO2 transport and geological storage are discussed, with recommendations on CO2 quality and concentration of impurities.