SBIR Phase I: A transformative low-cost approach for Direct Air Capture of CO2 via repeated cycles of ambient weathering of metal oxides

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in the development of a highly-scalable solution to environmental change. While natural solutions like afforestation and soil sequestration are important, there is an urgent need for scalable, low land use, permanent alternatives. The proposed technology will use a process called Direct Air Capture to reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations, thereby limiting sea level rise, natural disasters, climate related forced migration, and economic distress. The proposed project will minimize energy requirements from forced air convection relative to traditional Direct Air Capture systems, repeatedly re-using mineral feedstocks in an enhanced weathering process to capture CO2 from the air, and developing innovative approaches to the integration of engineered components at ultra-low cost. No scaled accelerated mineralization operation has been demonstrated to date, largely because of the technical difficulties facing its implementation. The integration of various technical pieces into a cohesive, economical system is a principal challenge facing the industry. The goal of the project is to de-risk the integrated system by achieving consistent carbonation rates within tight economic constraints in a low-control environment at industrial scale. The process will include developing test fixtures and a development platform to run constant testing, as well as developing new hardware components to further enhance carbonation rates. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.