SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Our approach for Direct Air Capture (DAC) builds on PCI’s success with flue gas capture which demonstrated 75% energy savings compared to operation with methylethanolamine (MEA)-based systems. In Phase I of the project we will optimize and modify our current nanomaterial composites to make them suitable for conditions typical of DAC – 400 ppmv CO2, variable humidity and temperature. Through a combination of optimized material and low-energy operating system we will achieve the fundamental requirements of sorbents to be competitive for DAC – high uptake at the very low CO2 pressure; high selectivity for CO2 over other air components and resistance to humidity and other contaminants. Other cost drivers of DAC will be addressed by deploying the sorbent on our low-cost tailorable mesh substrate Our system enables low pressure drop, high volumetric utilization and high mass transfer rates, and is suitable for the rapid heat transfer and low temperature regeneration operating modes needed for cost-effective DAC. Additionally the deployed sorbent will operate at very low pressure drops (as opposed to liquid solvents) to accommodate for the very high space velocities that the system needs to operate at to be economically viable. Our primary benefit is a new technology for substantially reducing the energy cost of sustainable DAC, offering energy savings and economic advantage to reducing carbon footprint. Worldwide carbon emissions are forecasted to grow, with fossil fuel combustion and industry accounting for substantial CO2 emissions and with competing industries and economies worldwide seeking to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon capture technologies provide a path to reduce net carbon emissions while also supplying CO2 for integration with value-added chains of several industries, including enhanced oil recovery and an emerging industry of converting CO2 to value added chemicals such as fuels and plastics. Technologies that capture CO2 emissions at lower cost offer potential for American global economic advantage and energy independence, both for domestic industries that save energy using the technology and as the basis for export products that deliver the technology to others.
