ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Comparative Study of CO2 Chemical Absorbents
for the Exhaust Gas of a Ship Diesel Engine
More details
Hide details
1
Shanghai Maritime University, Marine Merchant College, Address: No.1550 Haigang Avenue, Shanghai 201306, China
Submission date: 2025-08-11
Final revision date: 2025-11-27
Acceptance date: 2026-01-19
Online publication date: 2026-03-04
Corresponding author
Junwu Guo
Shanghai Maritime University, Marine Merchant College, Address: No.1550 Haigang Avenue, Shanghai 201306, China
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The exhaust emissions from ship diesel engines contain a large amount of carbon dioxide, which is
one of the main greenhouse gases. Currently, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is considered
a promising means of reducing CO2 emissions. In the process of carbon dioxide capture, the chemical
absorption method is the most widely used. Based on the main characteristics of various absorbents
at present, this article selects MEA and NaOH solutions as representative absorbents to compare
the carbon dioxide capture effect, aiming to establish an efficient and low-cost absorption and desorption
cycle system. This article uses Aspen Plus software to simulate the performance of common absorbents,
MEA and NaOH solutions, in carbon dioxide capture systems. Comparative analysis of carbon dioxide
capture efficiency from various aspects is performed, such as intake temperature, pressure, flow rate,
carbon dioxide concentration, absorbent concentration, reflux ratio, etc. The research results show
that the performance of NaOH solution in absorbing CO2 is similar to that of MEA under the same
capture environment. Under absorption conditions of 40ºC and 1.5 bar, the highest capture rate can
reach about 76%. Combining the economic costs of the two types of absorbent solutions, the economic
cost of using NaOH solution as the absorbent is only one-third of that of MEA solution. In contrast,
using NaOH solution as an absorbent is more cost-effective and conducive to large-scale market
promotion when the CO2 capture effect is equivalent.