CO2 capture-driven thermal and electric energy harvesting using amine-functionalized solvents with a poly(amidoamine) impregnated membrane

The energy consumed for CO2 capture in processes that capture, store, and utilize carbon frequently approaches 80% of the total energy consumed, and its reduction is a major area of focus. Herein, a system that captures CO2 from flue gas to produce electricity is proposed. The exothermic reaction heat of amine-CO2 in the point-source CO2 capture process is harvested and converted into electricity using a thermoelectric (TE) device. The reaction heat of synthesized amine-functionalized mixtures (TEPA@SBA/MEA+PZ) is 52% higher compared with that obtained from the primary amine absorbent. The flue gas channel and solvent reservoir are separated using a membrane composed of tetraethylenepentamine-impregnated poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate that selectively permeates CO2, to minimize heat loss due to mass transfer. The CO2 working capacity of TEPA@SBA/MEA+PZ is 6.6 mmol/g, which is defined as the capture capacity under steady-state conditions of 15 mol% CO2 and 85 mol% N2. Simultaneously, electricity can be harvested at a rate of 7.5 kJ/kg with a TE device composed of Bi2Te3. When put to industrial use, the proposed system can reduce the CO2 emission of power plants from 0.8 ton/MWh to 0.25 ton/MWh, while simultaneously generating an additional 0.6% of the total electricity production.