DT2_2017_1 Degradation and corrosion of amines (from a structural perspective)

Degradation and corrosion of amine solutions in post combustion CO₂ capture plants increases the cost of the process due to operational problems, the need for high quality material in the plant and reduction of the solvent's CO₂ capacity. A literature review over degradation and corrosion in CO₂ capture processes have been performed with focus on mechanism for degradation and corrosion as well as experimental data from laboratory experiments and pilot data when available. Degradation and corrosion are influenced by amine structure, CO₂ loading, temperature and impurities or other gas components present (O₂, SO₂, H₂S). Oxygen solubility in aqueous amine solutions and biodegradability of these amines could give valuable information in regard to chemical stability of amines in the presence of oxygen. Corrosion and degradation studies in long-term pilot plant campaigns have recently showed an accelerating degradation/corrosion which has not been observed in lab experiments.