Hybrid CO2 capture processes consisting of membranes: A technical and techno-economic review

Because of the greenhouse effect, there is a pressing need to restrict and reduce CO₂ emissions. Post-combustion capture technology is a type of widely used technologies for CO₂ capture. Compared to the standalone CO₂ capture processes such as absorption and cryogenic separation, hybrid CO₂ capture processes demonstrate improved separation efficiency and capacity for the overall performance. Membrane separation is a great candidate for process hybridization with other CO₂ capture processes. Three categories of hybrid processes consisting of membrane technology, i.e., in-series, parallel and integrated configurations, have been applied for CO₂ capture. This paper mainly reviews the recent research progresses on the process development as well as the techno-economic analyses of the hybrid processes corresponding to these configurations. Furthermore, the perspectives on future directions of hybrid CO₂ capture processes are discussed to facilitate its research and practical applications.