Dynamic Bifurcation Mapping in Carbon Capture Reactors with Coupled Thermal Runaway Effects

Abstract

Carbon capture reactors are increasingly operated under intensified conditions where high uptake performance must be balanced against thermal stability. Heat release from coupled reaction and capture pathways can therefore reorganize reactor behavior beyond what steady-state performance analysis can show. Recent studies on post-combustion capture reactors and carbon-capture process modeling have shown that reactor performance depends strongly on the interaction among transport, heat management, and uptake kinetics. However, many existing analyses still focus mainly on capture efficiency and do not fully explain how thermal amplification and capture dynamics create branch switching, unstable operating states, and runaway-prone response. This article presents a dynamic bifurcation mapping framework for carbon capture reactors with coupled thermal runaway effects. The study analyzes reactor temperature, capture response, and heat-release behavior under changing loading conditions, and evaluates stability-limit trajectories under different heat-removal capacities. The results show that increased loading drives the reactor through stable, sensitive, and runaway-prone regimes, while stronger heat removal preserves a wider safe operating window. These findings show that bifurcation-based analysis provides a stronger basis for reactor stability assessment and safer operation in intensified carbon capture systems.