Seawater Desalination with an Amine-based CO2-Capture Process

A new concept for seawater desalination integrated into an amine-based CO2-capture process is presented. It is based on the use of forward osmosis to transfer water from seawater into the absorption solution via a membrane. Desalted water can subsequently be recovered as the condensate from the desorber outlet or through membrane distillation from the absorber. Suitable membranes have been identified and the most promising one was selected for laboratory evaluation using representative amine solutions. The process performance parameters, membrane water flux and reverse amine flux were determined. The process performance was best for amino-acid salt solutions. Further work will focus on demonstration of the technology using a post-combustion CO2 capture pilot plant operating on real flue gas.