A Novel System for Extraction of Atmospheric CO2

The cost and availability of logistic fuels is becoming an important factor to the success of the military operations. There is also extra vulnerability rendered by the military’s dependence on this sole energy source for all operations. Hence, the army is interested in developing capability to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuel from dilute (~400 ppm) but vastly abundant CO2 and water in the atmosphere anywhere on the globe. The key challenge in such a technology is to recover CO2 and water available at ppm level in air and provide them as concentrated streams that are needed for conversion to hydrocarbon fuels. TDA Research, Inc proposes to develop a novel chemical sorbent-based solid-state compressor to collect and concentrate dilute atmospheric CO2 and H2O and use them as chemical feedstock to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels through reverse water gas shift (RWGS) and Fischer-Tropsch process. In Phase I, TDA will develop a high capacity, long-life regenerable sorbent that can effectively remove CO2 and H2O from air and pressurize the CO2 and H2 with applying heat to 300 psia. We will first perform bench-scale experiments to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the concept and perform many absorption and regeneration cycles (at a minimum 100 cycles) to identify the chemical life and mechanical durability of the sorbent. Based on experimental results, we will carry out a conceptual design of the CO2 capture and conversion system to produce 5,000 bbl/day of synthetic liquid fuels.