Development of Amine-Based Nanofluids with Improved CO2 Capture Performance

Funded By Particle Engineering Centre (PEC), NTNU

CO₂ absorption using amine solvents remains one of the most mature technologies for reducing anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, but there is significant potential to improve its efficiency by incorporating nanoparticles into these solvents. While nanofluids have been widely studied for their thermal conductivity and mass transfer benefits, most research to date has focused on water-based systems rather than the aqueous amine solvents actually used in CO₂ capture plants, and long-term nanofluid stability — a key requirement for industrial application — has received comparatively little attention, with no published studies demonstrating stability beyond 30 hours.

This ongoing project, funded by Particle Engineering Centre (PEC), aims to develop amine-based nanofluids with improved stability and CO₂ absorption performance under conditions resembling real capture plants. The work spans nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, nanofluid preparation and stability testing, mass transfer and absorption experiments, and multi-scale modeling, drawing on particle sizing (LUMiSizer) and stability assessment via zeta potential and nanoparticle tracking analysis.

The project is structured around three key stages: first, developing and characterizing stable amine-based nanofluids with optimal thermophysical properties; second, studying the mechanisms behind mass transfer enhancement through lab-scale absorption experiments and multi-scale modeling; and third, evaluating the performance of the resulting nanofluids at process scale using ASPEN PLUS simulations, including a techno-economic comparison against current benchmark solvents.