A detailed techno-economic
analysis of a novel direct air capture
(DAC) process has been carried out. In this process, carbon dioxide
is separated from ambient air through wet scrubbing with an aqueous
potassium hydroxide solution, while the solvent regeneration and CO2 recovery is carried out through bipolar membrane electrodialysis
(BPMED), a novel process exclusively based on electrical-driven regeneration.
The results of the techno-economic analysis showed that the regeneration
process could be less energy intensive than other solutions, requiring
as low as 236 kJ/mol-CO2. However, the high costs of bipolar
and ion exchange membranes make the BPMED expensive. In the base-case
scenario, the total capture cost has been found to be 773 $/ton-CO2, in line with previous cost estimates for DAC but large for
a second generation process. As for other DAC processes, this solution
could become particularly interesting in the future, whenever cheaper
renewable energy and more affordable and improved membranes become
available.
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