Foaming model for CO2 absorption process using aqueous monoethanolamine solutions

A foaming model was developed to predict pneumatic steady-state foam heights for the CO2 absorption process using aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) solutions. It consists of an empirical correlation for foam height prediction and a series of subroutine modules for physical property estimation. The foaming correlation was built on the correlation of Pilon et al. with adjustable and dimensionless parameters, which are a function of process parameters and physical properties. The model calculations involve numerical iteration and statistical analysis, namely multiple non-linear regression with a stochastic technique. The simulation results show that the model fits well with our experimental foam data with R-2 of 0.88 and can be used to describe foaming behaviour with respect to changes in process conditions. The predicted foam height is most sensitive to process parameters (i.e. solution volume followed by solution temperature) and to physical properties (i.e. liquid viscosity followed by liquid density and surface tension). The foam height, however, is not sensitive to gas density. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.