Results of the 18-month test with MEA at the post-combustion capture pilot plant at Niederaussem – new impetus to solvent management, emissions and dynamic behaviour

•Continuous long-term testing with 30 wt% MEA over 13,000 h at a lignite-fired power plant.•Low specific MEA consumption of less than 300 g/t CO2 in the linear degradation regime.•At the Niederaussem pilot plant thermal degradation is less significant compared to other capture plants.•No critical threshold concentration of iron as a possible catalyst for degradation was detected.•“Bleed and Feed” as solvent management strategy is not effective, and inferior to ion exchange.