C56-10b Advanced Microencapsulated Carbon Sorbents (MECS) for Distributed Carbon Capture In Buildings

C56-10b-272692It is a broad goal of our country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fifty percent by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. The built environment plays a critical role in addressing this goal as our building sector accounts for thirty-six percent of national carbon dioxide emissions. Buildings also act as a reservoir of carbon dioxide where it concentrates and results in increased energy expenditure from heating, cooling and ventilation. Our company is developing a system for distributed carbon capture that will enable buildings to remove carbon from the air by augmenting the heating ventilation and air conditioning system to include carbon capture systems. This will be accomplished with a new class of sorbent material, advanced microencapsulated carbon sorbents, that combines the advantages of solid and liquid carbon sorbents for effective indoor air carbon dioxide removal. Integrating this technology into buildings will reduce energy spent in exhausting building carbon dioxide and help recycle conditioned air in the building. In phase I we will develop and design a proof-of-concept distributed carbon capture module for integration into the building infrastructure for removal of carbon dioxide and energy savings in the building. We will advance our technology’s performance in the built environment conditions to establish a high efficiency carbon dioxide capture system that pays for itself through the energy savings generated. We will also work with local underserved communities to determine a solution that can be accessible to local small business owners for installation. Enabling distributed carbon capture in the built environment has a twofold benefit of both carbon capture and energy savings that will help building owners and managers achieve their energy efficiency targets. The potential benefits of this technology go beyond reducing building related emissions as well and has the capability of removing historic atmospheric carbon dioxide. Because this carbon capture system is integrated with the building heating cooling and ventilation infrastructure, it leverages the existing infrastructure and therefore has the potential to greatly reduce the total cost of carbon capture so that it can be commercially viable for large scale removal. If this project is carried over into Phase II and Phase III, we anticipate a total potential impact of distributed carbon capture in buildings in our country that can address over five hundred million tons of carbon dioxide.