For the stripper sump, the degree of expected thermal degradation experienced by the solvent per cycle increases linearly with residence time. This is particularly critical at higher temperatures as the slope of the additional degradation is increased due to the less favourable conditions. A buffer store of lean and rich solvent can aid in operational flexibility by enabling the rapid response to changing absorber conditions without the delay of producing additional lean solvent. However, the results presented here indicate that utilising the stripper sump to provide this storage capacity will lead to excessive thermal degradation. Storage of any lean solvent in excess of the minimum level required by the regeneration system in a separate storage tank after the cross-heat exchanger (i.e. ambient storage) could mitigate this by minimising the holdup time in the stripper sump. Table details the absolute and relative change in MEA degradation rates predicted to occur when transitioning from 95% gross CO2 capture to 100% added CO2 capture for the design points presented in this work. The increase ranges between 21% and 112%, primarily due to the increased rate of thermal degradation in the regeneration section. Solvent replacement OPEX is a function of solvent consumption rate and solvent cost and, therefore, Table can indicate OPEX incurred as a result of replacing this degraded solvent. To provide economic context, using a representative cost for an MEA solvent of 0.5 -5£/kg MEA results in an increased OPEX of between 0.02 -0.38£/tCO2. However, the cost indication provided here does not include any additional costs associated with the increased intensity of emission mitigation or solvent management (i.e. increased rates of thermal reclaiming) that are likely if solvent degradation increases, or any increase in volatile solvent losses due to the lower lean loading or higher absorber exit temperatures -these considerations are beyond the scope of this work.