Open access, thermodynamically consistent, electrolyte NRTL model for piperazine, AMP, water, CO2 systems on Aspen Plus

Abstract

This study developed a comprehensive, open-access, thermodynamically consistent, validated vapour-liquid equilibrium model for CO2 absorption into aqueous solutions of piperazine (PZ) activated 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) on Aspen Plus. This solves a two-decade-old problem of inconsistent specification of PZ, and lacking AMP/PZ, thermodynamic models on Aspen Plus, supporting robust process modelling of AMP/PZ-based CO2 capture systems, considered the contemporary benchmark. The model coverage is wide: total amine concentrations from 30 wt% to 50 wt%, AMP/PZ mole ratios from 0.46 to 23.1, CO2 loadings from 0.04 to 1.07 mol CO2/mol amine, and temperatures from 20 °C to 160 °C. The significance lies in the model’s innovative treatment of the zwitterion PZH+CO2–, leading to accurate VLE predictions and closed charge balances. Absolute average relative deviations (AARD) are 16.6 % to 22.3 % for CO2 partial pressure predictions and 6.3 % to 7.7 % for absorption heats. Gibbs-Helmholz and flash calculated absorption heats consistently compare within 1.5 % to 7.0 %, signalling the model’s thermodynamic consistency.