A Pilot‐Scale Demonstration of Mobile Direct Air Capture Using Metal‐Organic Frameworks

Abstract

the viability of existing fossil fuel energy sources and processes. A more recent approach proposes the use of DAC [3] to complement the implementation of renewable energy sources in order to facilitate a reduction in global atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. In addition to new processes reported for CO 2 capture from stationary sources, such as the metal-mediated CO 2regenerative amine-based battery process that directly converts CO 2 reaction enthalpy into electrical energy, [4] DAC offers a practical mitigation of CO 2 emissions from highly distributed or mobile point sources. As an alternative to storage of captured CO 2 in deep saline aquifers suggested for large stationary emitting sources, [5] DACproduced CO 2 could be used as a chemical feedstock for the synthesis of value added products. [6,3b,7] Examples of such demonstrated technologies include the use of CO 2 instead of water to cure concrete leading to permanent sequestration of the CO 2 , [8] efficient growth of plants in greenhouses, and conversion of CO 2 into alcohols by algae. [3b,9] Additionally, the uptake of distributed point-of-use DAC CO 2 could mirror, and even be facilitated by, consumer-driven selection of point-of-use solar photovoltaics (PV) electricity generation and storage. [1a,10] Proposed routes for DAC include the use of aqueous basic solutions [11] and solid adsorbents [12] as capture media. Aqueous basic solutions are used because they offer the opportunity to continuously contact the feed air with the solution in the presence of contaminants and other constituents in the air. [13] From a process engineering perspective, this approach is excellent for large-scale carbon capture in the form of a processing plant permanently located alongside free waste-heat sources, such as a coal or gas power plant. [13c,d,14] Solid adsorbents offer the prospect of DAC with a low energy input, low operating costs, minimal infrastructure, and the potential for application over a broad range of scales. [14a,15] Transitioning to a sustainable carbon cycle will require a suite of technologies from large-scale carbon capture plants to a large number of small and distributed carbon capture units. [16] Inspired by the trend of individual responsibility, small and mobile carbon capture units could enable small business enterprises to play their part in reducing global carbon emissions. Recycling carbon dioxide from the air can be a valuable process in beverage carbonation, food preservation, and dry ice cleaning devices. [17] However, if small mobile DAC units relying solely on It is increasingly apparent that negative emissions technologies, such as direct air capture (DAC), are required as part of the technology mix for limiting global atmospheric temperature increase. For all DAC technologies, the requisite energy for regeneration of the separation media strongly influences the overall cost of the process and therefore directly influences their likely implementation. Herein, the results of a pilot-scale demonstration of a new metal organic framework (...

Recent advances in direct air capture by adsorption

“…Cyclic processes. Rapid scaling-up design of efficient adsorption-based DAC processes has been witnessed in recent years, such as temperature concentration swing adsorption (TCSA) using an inert gas purge or a CO 2 purge, 171,172 temperature vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA), 65,[173][174][175][176][177][178][179] steam-assisted TCSA (S-TCSA), 64,180,181 and steam-assisted temperature vacuum swing adsorption (S-TVSA). 180,182 By applying the hybrid desorption process combined with vacuum, heating, and steam purge, steam can be supplied to S-TVSA at low temperatures using solar energy or waste heat.…”

“…Monash University recently teamed up with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization to develop a mobile DAC prototype (Airthena) using an electric power-supplied three-stage TVSA with an air handling capacity of 50 N m 3 h −1 . 174 The core component of the device is a spiral substrate coated with MOF/polymer nanocomposites, which exhibits good adsorption properties and hydrophobicity and can be regenerated at 80 °C. When the CO 2 purity is 70–80%, the operating energy consumption of Airthena reaches 5.76 GJ th t CO 2 −1 in 2680 cycles, equivalent to the energy cost of $35–350 t CO 2 −1 .…”

ARC-MOF: A Diverse Database of Metal-Organic Frameworks with DFT-Derived Partial Atomic Charges and Descriptors for Machine Learning

“…2 Due to these exceptional properties (large surface areas, high porosity, and tunability) MOFs have attracted significant interest for a wide variety of applications ranging from catalysis to drug delivery. [3][4][5][6] With the urgent and serious concerns of climate change, one high-profile application of MOFs has been in gas separation and storage, [7][8][9][10][11] where MOFs are now being commercialized for industrial scale CO2 capture from combustion flue gases. 12,13 Rational design of materials for a specific application is more desirable than trial-and-error development, which can be a long and expensive process.…”

The HEALED SBU library of chemically realistic building blocks for construction of hypothetical metal-organic frameworks

“…Particular interest has focused on screening MOF materials for use in various carbon capture technologies such as pre-combustion, post-combustion, and direct air capture. 12,[17][18][19] MOFs have demonstrated a remarkable ability to selectively adsorb CO2 and a number of other gaseous species (e.g. SOX, NOX, H2S, CO, etc.…”