Synergistic inhibition of degradation and corrosion in monoethanolamine solvent for CO₂ capture solvents: Experimental and simulation studies

This study investigated the synergistic effects of six inhibitors on the degradation and corrosion of monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent used in CO₂ capture processes. A combination of experimental tests and computational simulations was employed to identify optimal inhibitor formulations that minimize both degradation and corrosion. Results demonstrated that the combination of potassium sodium tartrate (PST) and L-methionine (L-MET) significantly reduced the degradation and corrosion rates, with a 62.7 % reduction in oxidative degradation and a 98.8 % inhibition efficiency against corrosion at an optimal 1:2 ratio. Quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations elucidated the synergistic inhibition mechanism, revealing that the corrosion inhibition effectiveness is closely associated with their electronic properties and adsorption behavior on the Fe (110) surface. The findings suggest that the PST and L-MET ratio optimization can enhance solvent performance, potentially reducing operational costs and environmental impacts associated with solvent replacement and equipment maintenance in industrial CO₂ capture applications.