Acceleration of the reaction of carbon dioxide into aqueous 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol solutions by piperazine addition

In this work, the kinetics of the reaction between CO₂ and piperazine-activated aqueous solutions of a sterically hindered alkanolamine, 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (AHPD) was studied in a wetted wall column contactor at 303.15, 313.15 and 323.15 K. The AHPD concentration in the aqueous solutions was kept at while the piperazine (PZ) concentration varied in the range . Under pseudo-first-order CO₂ absorption conditions, the overall pseudo-first-order rate constants were determined and reaction rate parameters were calculated with a non-linear regression from the overall reaction rate constant. The ratio of the diffusivity and Henry's law constant for CO₂ in solutions was estimated by applying the N₂O analogy and the Higbie penetration theory, using the physical absorption data of CO₂ and N₂O in water and of N₂O in amine solutions. Piperazine was found to be an effective activator in the aqueous AHPD solutions, as the addition of small amounts of PZ to these solutions has a significant effect on the enhancement of the CO₂ absorption rate for all studied temperatures.