Microgravity Vortex Phase Separator for Liquid Amine CO2 Removal System

The present study investigates vortex phase separator (VPS) technology as a new approach for a liquid amine CO2 removal system. Experimental results obtained using a 99.99% pure CO2 stream and liquid amine with varying concentrations demonstrate the VPS' ability to decrease CO2 volume at its gas outlet. Operating parameters such as CO2 flow rate, relative humidity (RH), and temperature were systematically varied during experimental procedure, as well as working fluid temperature, volume, and flow rate. The subscale design for a VPS with a 3" inner diameter, 3.5" outer diameter, and 3.63" height removed a maximum of 84% of CO2 from a CO2 stream at 3.7 SCFH flow rate, 14°C temperature, and 82% RH, using 100 mL of 100% amine circulated at 1.52 LPM flow rate. The designed VPS also showed to be effective in removing relative humidity of the CO2 stream by up to 26% for the stated parameters. Regeneration of liquid amine in the VPS system is also proposed to allow for continuous CO2 removal. The results obtained in this work characterize the VPS system for CO2 removal in terms of various operating parameters for the gas (CO2) and liquid (liquid amine) phases, as well as provide initial insights into how a VPS sized for stability and applied to CO2 removal performs. This work demonstrates VPS technology as an effective, alternative CO2 removal technology that could be scaled and used to support human exploration of space.