A method and an apparatus for the absorption of carbon dioxide

Disclosed herein is a method of performing a carbon dioxide absorption with reduced risk of aerosol formation from a carbon dioxide containing stream in an absorption apparatus having at least one carbon dioxide absorption section, a "once through" wash section and a cooling section, wherein no liquid separator is located between the carbon dioxide absorption section and the wash section, and wherein the method comprises the steps of: (i) passing the carbon dioxide containing gas stream through the carbon dioxide absorption section to form a purified gas stream containing solvent and reduced in carbon dioxide content by means of absorbing the carbon dioxide using a solvent, (ii) passing the purified gas stream through the "once through" wash section, which is operated with water condensate from the cooling section above the "once through" wash section and optionally with make-up water, to form a purified and washed gas stream having a reduced solvent content, (iii) feeding the purified and washed gas stream into the cooling section to cool the purified and washed gas stream and to condense water to form a water condensate, (iv) withdrawing the water condensate from the cooling section, (v) recirculating a part of the withdrawn water condensate back into the cooling section, (vi) feeding a remaining part of the withdrawn water condensate to the wash section, and wherein either all of or only a recirculated part of the water condensate withdrawn from the cooling section in step (iv) is cooled, and wherein the carbon dioxide-absorption section contains a structured packing selected from either: (a) a packing element disposed with a plurality of layers which are constituted as sheets wherein at least some of the sheets have corrugations and the corrugations having corrugation peaks forming crests and corrugation valleys forming troughs and the respective crests or troughs of the corrugations including an angle with the main axis of the absorption apparatus which is less than 30 degrees at least over a portion of the height of the packing sheet, or (b) a packing element disposed with a plurality of layers which are constituted as sheets wherein at least some of the sheets have corrugations and the corrugations having corrugation peaks forming crests and corrugation valleys forming troughs and the respective crests or troughs of the corrugations including an angle with the main axis of the absorption apparatus which is not more than 50 degrees over at least a po