Examination of the Influences on the Absorption of SO2 into Seawater in a Packed Mini Column and a Pilot Column

In fossil-fueled power plants, which are located at the coast, seawater can be used for flue-gas desulfurization as already successfully accomplished throughout the last years.

Due to the stricter regulations, in the last years ships are often furnished with flue-gas desulfurization plants which can also use seawater as absorbent. As there is only very limited space for flue-gas scrubbers at the ships, it is important that they are working efficient. Therefore, the use of random and structured packings is promising as they provide a huge surface area for the interaction between the two phases.

Furthermore, the composition of the seawater is also an important factor, which has to be considered as it varies with the geographical position of the ship. Due to these reasons, the influences of the salinity, the alkalinity and the temperature on the absorption of SO₂ into seawater have been examined in a small packed column in the laboratory. Additionally, the influences of different salt compositions on the SO₂-absorption are investigated. A few selected experiments are repeated at a technical pilot plant (DN 450) to ensure the transferability of the experiments gained in laboratory scale to industrial scale. The presentation outlines the results of the experiments in the laboratory and at the technical plant.