Amine emissions and CO2 purity from carbon capture pilot plant at the Łaziska coal-fired power plant

•Amine emissions and their volatile degradation products from carbon capture pilot plant.•Long-term measurement of purity of the CO2 produced from the desorber.•Process parameters for treating 200 m3/h of flue gas from coal-fired boiler.•Gas analysis from different sections of the absorber using FTIR analyzer.•Evaluation of the pretreatment section, which cleans the flue gas entering the CO2 absorber. Carbon dioxide reduction by amine absorption is considered the most technologically advanced method. This method is particularly recommended for gases with low CO2 concentrations, such as flue gases. On the other hand, the use of amine absorption solutions can contribute to the emission of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. This paper presents the emission of amines and their degradation products from a CO2 capture pilot plant treating a slipstream (approximately 200 m3N/h) of flue gas from a pulverized coal-fired boiler. The studies were conducted during a 2-week research campaign at the Łaziska Power Plant in Poland. An aqueous blend of 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (25 % AMP) with piperazine (9 % PZ) was used as the absorption liquid. Among others, ammonia (12 ppmv), acetone (1 ppmv) and AMP (20 ppmv) were found to be the main contaminants in the clean gas (from the absorber). However, it should be noted that only single water wash section was used. The composition of the CO2 produced (from the desorber) was also measured. It was shown that the main pollutants were water vapor (3–4 % vol.), ammonia (2–6 ppmv), nitrogen oxide, formaldehyde, and formic acid (sum, up to 10 ppmv). Traces of acetone were also detected. The composition of this gas is of practical importance for the planned management of the captured CO2 stream. During the studies, the CO2 capture efficiency was in the range of 86.6 %-94.6 %. The average specific reboiler heat duty (gross) was 3.24 MJ/kg of removed CO2.