Biological treatment is one of the potential techniques in handling MEA reclaimer waste. There are
some studies signifying the biodegradability of fresh MEA in aerobic and anaerobic reactor. The
decomposition products are acetic acid, ammonium, acetaldehyde, formic acid, and ethanol [8-10]. It is
proven that fresh MEA is fully biodegraded in aerobic condition within 21 days with the addition of
phosphate [8]. Particularly, decomposition of MEA reclaimer waste from Aker Kvaerner pilot facility
(Kårstø, Norway) in aerobic batch and anaerobic continuous reactor is confirmed. The result from
anaerobic process provides a benefit on producing methane (CH4) yet it is more complicated to operate in
the condition of low C/N ratio of the reclaimer waste [11].
One of the concerns of MEA reclaimer waste is the existence of nitrosamine induced by NOx chemical
reaction namely nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA) and nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). NDELA is nonvolatile
substance while NDMA is expected to be volatile [12]. Nonetheless, some studies argue that
NDELA is non-volatile compound. Furthermore, there are some successful biodegradation investigations
for these two substances both in nature and in a manipulated environment by axenic bacteria [13-15]. As a
result from the previous findings, biological treatment for MEA reclaimer waste is reasonably promising
and can support the reuse of the post-treatment product.
The focus of this work covers MEA waste characterization along with evaluation of possible waste
treatment and reuse options. There are numerous studies on heat stable salts and degradation products in a
bench-scale, which are valuable for characterization. On the other hand, there is limited information on
the waste composition that accurately represents the reclaimer waste (i.e. sample of reclaimer waste) from
CO2 capture plant. Therefore, a reference case of Econamine FGSM is selected as it is deemed to
have sufficient data for further investigation yet some assumptions from the other literatures are taken into
consideration. In the end, the regulations regarding waste treatment and reuse are incorporated so as to
promote environmentally-sound CO2 capture application in UAE.