Non-oxidative thermal degradation of amines: GCMS/FTIR spectra analysis and molecular modeling

Aqueous amino solvents, such as monoethanolamine (ETA/MEA), methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) or amine blends, are the most widely used solvents in commercial CO₂ or acid gas separation applications. These commercial solvents have various disadvantages, such as the possibilities of the solvent to be degraded. This research examines the impact of non-oxidative thermal degradations on the performance of the CO₂ absorption and the degradation mechanism of amine solvents. The impact of degradation was conducted by measuring the CO₂ solubility of solvent that had been heated to 120°C for 2 h. Although the performance of CO₂ absorption was not significantly reduced, the degradation of amines was found. Supported by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer result, the suspected products of non-oxidative thermal degradation of MDEA were MEA and acetone.     

Decolorization of crude terpineol by adsorption

Industrial terpineol is commonly manufactured from more readily available turpentine or α-pinene rather than extracting from natural plants or woods. The product of the synthesis results in a dark-color liquid that could reduce the price and limit the use of the product itself. Finding a suitable solid adsorbent that is able to adsorb the impurities could be a better way to solve the problem rather than using energy-demanding process, such as stage-wise distillation. In this study, four different solid adsorbents were tried to decolorize the dark color of synthesized terpineol from α-pinen. Bentonite shows a very promising result as it could alter the color of the liquid into light yellow. Compared to other adsorbents, bentonite performed better at the same particle size and solid loading. The decolorization performance was also influenced significantly by the size of the solid adsorbent.