ABSTRACT
Amine absorption (or amine scrubbing) is currently the most established method for CO2 capture; however, it has environmental shortcomings and is energy-intensive. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are an interesting alternative to conventional amines. Due to their biodegradability, lower toxicity and lower prices, DESs are considered to be "more benign" absorbents for CO2 capture than ionic liquids. In this work, the CO2 absorption capacity of choline-chloride/levulinic-acid-based (ChCl:LvAc) DESs was measured at different temperatures, pressures and stirring speeds using a vapour-liquid equilibrium rig. DES regeneration was performed using a heat treatment method. The DES compositions studied had ChCl:LvAc molar ratios of 1:2 and 1:3 and water contents of 0, 2.5 and 5 mol%. The experimental results showed that the CO2 absorption capacity of the ChCl:LvAc DESs is strongly affected by the operating pressure and stirring speed, moderately affected by the temperature and minimally affected by the hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA):hydrogen bond donator (HBD) molar ratio as well as water content. Thermodynamic properties for CO2 absorption were calculated from the experimental data. The regeneration of the DESs was performed at different temperatures, with the optimal regeneration temperature estimated to be 80 °C. The DESs exhibited good recyclability and moderate CO2/N2 selectivity.
ABSTRACT
Second cheese whey (SCW) is a by-product of cheese and curd cheese production that is usually not recovered and therefore substantially contributes to the negative environmental impact of the cheese manufacture plants. Membrane technology, namely nanofiltration (NF), is used in this work for the recovery of SCW organic nutrients, resulting from "Serpa" cheese and curd production. The SCW is processed by NF to recover a rich lactose fraction in the concentrate and a process water with a high salt content in the permeate. The permeation experiments were carried out in a plate & frame NF unit, where two NF membranes (NFT50 and HR-95-PP) were characterized and tested. The NF permeation experiments were performed accordingly with two different operation modes: total recirculation and concentration. In order to select the best membrane and operating pressure for the SCW fractionation, total recirculation experiments were carried out. The NF modeling was also performed, in terms of permeate fluxes and rejection coefficients using the resistances-in-series model and the solution-diffusion model, respectively. After the membrane selection, the concentration experiments showed that the selected membrane (NFT50) at 3.0MPa allows a water recovery of approximately 80%, concentrating the SCW nutrients approximately 5 times. Therefore, the NF operation can successfully reduce the wastewater organic load and simultaneously contributes to the valorization of the cheese and curd cheese manufacture by-products.
