Detoxifying CO2 capture reclaimer waste by anaerobic digestion

The decrease in toxicity of carbon capture reclaimer monoethanolamine (MEA) waste (MEAw) during anaerobic degradation of such waste together with easily degradable organics was investigated. Samples were collected from a bioreactor at steady state with 86 % organic chemical oxygen demand removal at room temperature, which had been running on MEAw for 2 years. The toxicity of the digester effluents were 126, 42 and 10 times lower than that of the MEAw to the tested freshwater trophic groups of Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Daphnia magna and embryos of Danio rerio, respectively. The toxicity of the tested taxonomic groups after anaerobic digestion was mainly attributed to the ammonia generated by the degradation of MEAw.