Fluor Solvent

The Fluor Solvent technology is a pre-combustion carbon capture process that uses propylene carbonate as a physical solvent. It is designed for feed gas with CO2 partial pressures of 3.5 barg and higher, and has been applied to natural gas and syngas streams with CO2 content ranging from 12-53% by volume.

The process operates at low temperatures, down to -20°C, which increases the solvent's CO2 holding capacity and reduces circulation requirements. Regeneration occurs through pressure reduction stages, including vacuum pressure or a solvent stripper, without external heating. The technology offers high selectivity, producing dry gas products with minimal hydrocarbon losses.

Key features include a two-absorber design, with the upper absorber producing semi-lean solvent for reuse in the lower absorber. The process utilizes flash refrigeration to cool feed gas and semi-lean solvent, and incorporates a hydraulic turbine to recover power from pressure letdown while generating cooling. Flash gases are recycled to minimize losses.

Propylene carbonate offers favorable properties as a solvent, including high CO2 solubility, low heat of solution, low vapor pressure, low hydrocarbon solubility, and low viscosity. It is non-hazardous, chemically non-reactive, and resistant to degradation or foaming. The technology is particularly suited for blue hydrogen projects seeking an all-electric capture solution and can achieve capture efficiencies up to 95%.