Only a fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions come from large point sources, so efforts to make deep cuts in CO2 emissions should also consider emissions from dispersed sources. This observation indicates that technologies that could directly capture CO2 from ambient air could be useful if they are economically viable. A number of sorbents have been demonstrated that reversibly capture CO2 from ambient air, but little information is available regarding the economics of realistic processes based on these materials. We have developed process models to consider the viability of adsorption-based air capture technologies focusing on using a specific amino-modified silica adsorbent, TRI-PE-MCM-41, and a structured monolithic contactor unit. We have studied several different temperature swing adsorption processes using the purity of CO2 and annual product throughput as metrics for comparing process performance. This analysis identifies some of the operational parameters, adsorbent characteristics and other factors that have a significant effect on the performance of the process. Using the total energy requirement of the process and available sources of energy, such as low pressure steam and electricity, we carried out an economic analysis to obtain a net operating cost for air capture of CO2. Potential strategies for reducing the energy and monetary cost of these processes are identified. Our analysis supports continued work to establish the technological and economic feasibility of adsorption-based air capture. We will also discuss experimental work focused on improving the performance of sorbents for capture of CO2 from ambient air.

Development of economically-viable adsorption-based processes for direct capture of CO<sub>2</sub> from air

245th National Meeting (2013)

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Development of economically-viable adsorption-based processes for direct capture of CO2 from air

Development of economically-viable adsorption-based processes for direct capture of CO₂ from air