CO2‐Abtrennung für fossil befeuerte Kraftwerke

An overview of technologies for fossil fuel power plants with drastically reduced CO₂ emissions is given. Post combustion capture, Pre combustion capture, and Oxyfuel technology are introduced and compared. Current research results indicate that Post combustion capture may lead to slightly higher losses in power plant efficiency than the two other technologies. However, retrofitting of existing plants with Oxyfuel technology is complex and costly, and retrofitting of Pre combustion capture is not possible. On the other hand, Post combustion capture is suited for retrofitting. Based on the mature technology of reactive absorption, it can be implemented on a large scale in the near future. Therefore, Post combustion capture using reactive absorption is discussed here in some detail.     

Mikroreaktoren aus Glas für die Anwendung im Labor

The implementation of microreaction technology as part of academic research und hands‐on trainings requires economic und manageable microstructured devices. Glass microdevices are an alternative to round bottom flasks in chemical synthesis. Integration in existing systems is provided by use of standardized adapter.     

Standortplanung für die Herstellung CO2‐basierter Chemikalien am Beispiel der Olefinproduktion

The use of CO₂ as raw material is increasingly gaining in importance as an option for climate protection and as an alternative raw material feedstock. Both direct electrochemical syntheses and thermochemical processes are associated with a high demand for electrical energy. A contribution to climate protection is only possible in the case of low‐carbon power generation, as can be realized, e.g., by wind power or solar energy. This article presents a methodology for identifying suitable sites for the CO₂‐based production of olefins in Germany.     

Automatisierung und Optimierung von Anfahr‐, Lastwechsel‐ und Batch‐Prozessen

Continuous processes show dynamics during load changes, start‐up and shutdowns whereas batch processes exhibit inherent dynamics. In the past, the major concern of automating these dynamics states of process operation were safe and reproducible operation, however, today modern methods of process operation allow for the economic optimization at the same time. The automation and optimization of batch processes pose challenges in several areas: Mastering the high complexity, connecting heterogeneous components by automation, and combining extensive knowledge from both process engineering and automation during project execution. This contribution describes approaches from industrial practice and punctually academic research, which solutions for the challenges are readily available and how to implement these.     

Katalysatorscreening und Reaktormodellierung für die oxidative Methankopplung zur Brennwertanhebung von Biogas

The feed of biogas into the natural gas grid contributes to the success of the energy transition from fossil and nuclear fuels to renewables, because the usage of fed‐in biogas is highly diversified. But the necessary admixture of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to increase the heating value results in high costs and in a dependency on fossil fuels. Currently, the process of the oxidative coupling of methane to produce higher hydrocarbons from biogas, whereby an independent increase of the heating value will be possible, is investigated.     

Entwicklung eines optimalen CO2‐Abtrennungsprozesses für die oxidative Kopplung von Methan im Miniplant‐Maßstab

Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is a promising route for the production of ethylene by using natural gas. However, an industrial implementation still remains in its very early stage with the main efforts focused on the search for a sufficiently selective, active, and stable catalyst. During the OCM reaction, CO₂ is formed as unwanted by‐product and has to be separated in the downstream process. This affects the efficiency of the overall process significantly. For this purpose, an integrated gas treatment process for the CO₂ capture in a mini plant scale has been built.     

Inline‐Bestimmung der CO2‐Beladung von wässrigem Diglykolamin in Abhängigkeit von Viskosität und Temperatur

The solvents CO₂ loading is an important factor when evaluating the efficiency of an absorption/desorption process. There is almost no possibility to measure the CO₂ loading inline. Therefore experiments were made to determine a correlation between the CO₂ loading and the solvents viscosity as well as the solvents temperature. The correlation was verified using control tests and values from the literature. An overall maximum relative error under 10 % could be observed. Simultaneously investigations were made to understand if the solvents electrical conductivity and pH value are suitable for a similar correlation.     

Untersuchung der CO2‐Absorptionskinetik in wässrigen Lösungen von N,N‐Diethylethanolanmin und N‐Ethylethanolamin

N‐Ethylethanolamine (EEA) and N,N‐diethylethanolamine (DEEA) represent promising alkanolamines for CO₂ removal from gaseous streams, as they can be prepared from renewable resources. In this work, the reaction rate constant for the reaction between CO₂ and EEA and the liquid‐side mass transfer coefficient were determined from the absorption rate measurements in a blend comprising DEEA, EEA and H₂O. A stirred‐cell reactor was applied for the absorption studies, whereas a zwitterion mechanism for EEA and a base‐catalyzed hydration mechanism for DEEA were used to describe the reaction kinetics.     

Ein nachhaltiges Konzept zur Bereitstellung von reinem CO2 als C‐Quelle für Solarfuels – Synergien zwischen Biokohle und Biogas

In times of the German energy transition (“Energiewende”) chemical storage technologies achieve an increasing interest because only with their help the energy of the excess electricity from wind‐ and solar plants can be stored in huge quantities in form of hydrocarbons. The hydrogen generated by water electrolysis can be converted with carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons. In addition, pure CO₂ must be available at a reasonable price. For this CO₂ supply a sustainable concept is presented.     

Verfahrenstechnische Fortschritte für die Herstellung neuer Materialien – Foliengießen aus Nanopartikeln

It is shown by the example of a ceramic tape casting process, how advances in the field of process engineering lead to improved material properties. One great advance is the possibility of producing nanoparticles in stirred media mills. The nano‐sized particle suspensions can be directly processed to ceramic tapes. The processing of nanoparticles requires specifically adjusted process conditions, but leads to a drastic improvement of the final product properties. Hence, dense and crack‐free ceramic tapes with a higher mechanical strength, a lower surface roughness and a translucent character compared to tapes from micro‐sized powders can be obtained.     

Defektfreie Mixed‐Matrix‐Membranen aus Matrimid® und Aktivkohle für die Gastrennung

In this work the fabrication of new mixed‐matrix membranes (MMMs) of Matrimid® and activated carbon (AC) for gas separation is reported. The aim is the fabrication of membranes that have better gas permeation properties compared to the pristine Matrimid® membranes. The membranes were thermally and morphologically characterized, and the gas transport properties of single gases were estimated by a variety of methods. It has been found that with an increase of the AC content the selectivity remained stable for the different gases despite the marked increase in the effective permeability of the pure gases.