In reality, it is anticipated that the solvent in the absorber sump will still have some exposure to the flue gas, either through contact at the interface or due to the introduction of entrained bubbles resulting from the downcoming solvent. To assess the impact of this kind of exposure on the degradation rate, we predicted the degradation rates under a worst-case scenario by assuming that the solvent in the sump is fully saturated with O2 throughout the residence time, see Figure . Therefore, the solvent leaving the sump is also fully saturated with O2. In this case, the total MEA degradation rate is increased from the baseline 256.9 g/tCO2 to 291.3g/tCO2, a 13.4% increase. However, it is unlikely that the solvent will be entirely saturated with O2 in the absorber sump, as previous oxidative degradation experiments conducted in agitated bubble reactors found that mass transfer limitations for O2 are present . Nevertheless, it is essential to consider this effect, especially when operating with long sump residence times or flue gases rich in O2, resulting in high dissolved O2 concentrations. Process modifications that mitigate prolonged contact between the solvent and the flue gas may be beneficial, as also discussed in . Likewise, process modifications that remove dissolved O2 from the solvent solution, either prior to or post sump, i.e. flashing or sparging, should reduce indirect oxidative degradation proportional to its removal efficiency.