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Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will use additive manufacturing to produce novel intensified devices that combine multiple thermodynamic operations to improve the efficiency of solvent-based technologies that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired flue gas. Conventional carbon capture equipment designs are based on multiple unit operations that utilize sequentially coupled stages for mass transfer and heat transfer. Researchers at ORNL will use computational modeling and additive manufacturing technology to design and fabricate graded packing structures with built-in heat exchanging channels that simultaneously increases reactive surface area and enhances heat exchanger efficiency. ORNL will work with the Carbon Capture Simulation for Industry Impact (CCSI2) team to create a model of a feasible geometry by generating a conceptual design that simulates the desired kinetic and thermodynamic operations throughout the packing structure. ORNL will additively manufacture up to three prototypes (2 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft) for the intensified design, as well as design and manufacture a prototype that is equivalent to a commercially available and widely used structured packing (MellaPak 250). The as-built mechanical and geometrical properties of the printed prototype materials will be characterized using various solvents and simulated flue gas at different flow rates and compared with those of a commercial (non-printed) packing. Based on the test results and geometrical parameters defined by CCSI2, device-scale (up to 6 feet tall) prototypes will be designed, printed, and tested with a commercially available solvent (monoethanolamine) to evaluate the overall CO2 capture performance of the intensified device.

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Model of absorption in structured packings at ORNL
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Principal Investigator
Xin Sun
sunx1@ornl.gov
Project Benefits

Additive manufacturing enables the development of carbon capture devices that intensify thermodynamic operations, improve process performance, and reduce equipment size, lowering capital and operating costs and making progress toward the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Capture goals.

Project ID
FWP-FEAA130