UK Negative Emissions DAC Process with Electrochemical Solvent Regeneration

Project Description

The University of Kentucky Research Foundation, in partnership with EPRI, will develop a 5kg/hour carbon dioxide (CO₂) direct air capture (DAC) process. Three objectives are targeted, including (1) the scale-up of an electrochemical reactor (ER) to simultaneously produce hydrogen (H₂) and CO₂ at a low electric potential of less than 3 volts with collaboration from a commercial water electrolyzer developer; (2) the design and construction of an open-tower absorber for low gas pressure drop, including a spray section with a multifunctional mist eliminator to provide reaction surface area for CO₂ capture, while minimizing the liquid droplet loss; and (3) reducing the energy consumption for CO₂ release by 50% by immobilizing a catalyst on the absorber demister to enhance bicarbonate formation and total CO₂ loading in the solvent. In Budget Period 1 (BP1), the team will design and test the Hybrid Absorber (HA) and ER. In BP2, the team will focus on scale-up, modulation, startup, and commissioning. 5). In BP3, the team will focus on parametric and long-term testing with a focus on CO₂ capture efficiency from greater than 1,000 CFM air, gaseous pressure drop, gas-liquid contact effectiveness, and energy requirement coupled with the performance of the ER targeting minimizing the power requirement, along with data collection to support techno-economic assessment (TEA), life cycle assessment (LCA), and environmental health and safety (EH&S) assessment.

Project Benefits

The Carbon Dioxide Removal Program is fostering the development of a diverse set of advanced carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies (e.g., DAC with durable storage, biomass carbon removal and storage, enhanced mineralization, ocean-based CDR, etc.) to support progress toward achieving the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Carbon Negative Shot target of less than $100/net tonne CO₂-equivalent removed (i.e., both capture and storage), with costs accounting for at least 100 years of durable secure geologic storage, including ongoing monitoring, reporting, and verification. The program is aiming to advance DAC technologies through bench-scale testing of transformational carbon capture materials, equipment, processes, or a combination thereof under environmentally relevant conditions for DAC, enabling optimization of the material and/or process to maximize volumetric CO₂ capture productivity, while reducing pressure drop, maximizing CO₂ contact area, and minimizing heat and power requirements, to collectively reduce capital and operating costs.

Predecessor Project(s):

• FE0032125

Presentations, Papers, and Publications

• Negative-Emissions Enabled Direct Air Capture with Coupled Electro-Production of Hydrogen at 5 kg-per-hour Scale (Aug 2024)
  Xin Gao, University of Kentucky
• Negative-Emissions Enabled Direct Air Capture with Coupled Electro-Production of Hydrogen at a 5 kg-per-hour Scale (May 2024)
  Budget Period 1 Review Meeting
• Negative-Emissions Enabled Direct Air Capture with Coupled Electro-Production of Hydrogen at a 5 kg-per-hour Scale (Sep 2023)
  Project Kickoff Meeting
• Negative-Emissions Enabled Direct Air Capture with Coupled Electro-Production of Hydrogen at a 5 kg-per-hour Scale (Aug 2023)
  Presented by Ayokunle Omosebi and Xin Gao, University of Kentucky, 2023 FECM / NETL Carbon Management Research Project Review Meeting

Contact Information