Dual Function Materials for Direct Air Capture of CO2

Direct Air Capture (DAC) of CO2 is a potentially scalable negative CO2 emissions technology. Beyond negative emissions, DAC technologies can be placed ubiquitously to utilize CO2 for wide variety of applications, ranging from CO2 utilization for value-added products, to enhanced oil recovery, to geological sequestration without expensive pipelines. Current estimates for DAC suggest that it can cost between $300 - $1,500/tonne of CO2 captured. The proposed project is aimed at developing and optimizing materials and processes to significantly lower the cost of DAC. To achieve this goal, we are proposing to further develop and optimize existing dual function materials (DFMs) that were developed for capturing and converting CO2 from large point sources to DAC applications. These materials have shown potential for direct air capture of CO2 in preliminary tests and, optionally, convert the captured CO2 into valuable products during regeneration – reactive capture of CO2 from air. Our proposed DFMs consist of porous solids containing a novel combination of an adsorbent and a catalyst involving selective chemisorption of CO2, followed by sorbent regeneration through reversible desorption or, optionally, catalytic conversion of adsorbed CO2 into synthetic natural gas (CH4) using waste or renewable H2. Both chemisorption and sorbent regeneration operate at the same temperature, eliminating the need for heating and cooling of the reactor beds, which are typically needed in most of the adsorption-based processes. The key technical objective for initial Phase I project is to complete a laboratory material and process development program to prepare the DFMs for eventual deployment in DAC application to lower the cost of DAC. The focus of the work plan establishes a laboratory-scale material testing and optimization program aimed at understanding the key parameters to improved material performance under 400 ppm CO2 concentrations. These tests will take place under conditions relevant to DAC for validation of the DFMs applicability. The experimental data obtained will be used to estimate technical performance of the DFMs for their adsorbent and catalyst properties in developing highly cost-effective DAC processes. This measured technical performance will be used to complete a preliminary techno-economic to provide insights into the magnitude of improvements in CO2 capture cost for commercial deployment of DFMs in direct air capture applications.