The performance of a proprietary solvent (CAER-B2), an amine-carbonate blend, for the absorption of CO2 from coal-derived flue gas is evaluated and compared with state-of-the-art 30 wt% monoethanolamine (MEA) under similar experimental conditions in a 0.1 MWth pilot plant. The evaluation was done by comparing the carbon capture efficiency, the overall mass transfer rates, and the energy of regeneration of the solvents. For similar carbon loadings of the solvents in the scrubber, comparable mass transfer rates were obtained. The rich loading obtained for the blend was 0.50 mol CO2/mol amine compared to 0.44 mol CO2/mol amine for MEA. The energy of regeneration for the blend was about 10% lower than that of 30 wt% MEA. At optimum conditions, the blend shows promise in reducing the energy penalty associated with using industry standard, MEA, as a solvent for CO2 capture. (c) 2012 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.