SBIR Phase I: CAS: A Novel Approach for Achieving Scale in Direct Air Carbon Capture

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响可能有助于创造一种可行的千兆吨规模的直接空气CO2（二氧化碳）捕获（DAC）技术。这项技术可能成为防止气候变化最坏影响的关键支柱。一个多世纪以来，人类每年向大气中排放数十亿吨二氧化碳。随着越来越多的二氧化碳积聚在大气中，阻挡了太阳光线，地球的温度持续上升。据两党政策中心（Bipartisan Policy Center）称，十亿吨规模的DAC将支持在美国创造一个万亿美元的产业，并支撑300万个就业岗位的发展。该项目基于一种新型DAC设计，解决了实现有效抵消二氧化碳引起的气候变化所需规模的两个关键障碍：基础设施建设成本和运行过程所需的能源。该系统用单乙醇胺（MEA）喷雾注入碳捕获液，并用排气颗粒分离离心机除去该喷雾。通过这种中空的设计，它不仅节省了建筑成本，而且可以节省持续的能源成本。碳捕获接触器的能源成本是压降或阻力的函数。该公司的假设是，离心机比目前在接触器中使用的蜂窝状填充物更符合空气动力学。节省的能源可以转化为一个显著降低压降的系统，从而降低持续运行的能源成本。该计划被组织成调查每个技术风险领域的研究目标。第一个目标是通过计算流体动力学（CFD）和实验室测试，计算从空气中捕获二氧化碳的最佳流体粒径，并优化拟议系统内MEA的工作范围。第二个目标是通过物理原型确定风扇和离心机之间的关系。第三个目标是通过CFD和物理原型的混合设计设施形状。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in potentially contributing to the creation of a viable gigaton-scale Direct Air CO2 (carbon dioxide) Capture (DAC) technology. The technology could be a key pillar in preventing the worst effects of climate change. For over a century, humanity has emitted billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. As more CO2 has accumulated in the atmosphere trapping the sun’s rays, Earth’s temperature has continued to rise. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, gigaton-scale DAC stands to support the creation of a trillion-dollar industry in the United States and underpin the development of 3 million jobs. This project is based on a novel DAC design addressing two key hurdles to achieving the scale needed to effectively offset CO2-caused climate change: cost to build infrastructure and energy to run processes. The system injects carbon capture fluid with a monoethanolamine (MEA) spray and removes that spray with an exhaust particle separating centrifuge. Through this hollow design, it not only saves on building costs, but may be poised to save on ongoing energy costs. Energy cost in a carbon capture contactor is a function of pressure drop or drag. The company's hypothesis is that a centrifuge is significantly more aerodynamic than the honeycomb-like filling currently used in contactors. The energy savings can translate into a system with significantly lower pressure drop and, therefore, lower ongoing energy costs to run. The program is organized into research objectives that investigate each area of technical risk. The first objective is calculating the optimal fluid particle size for capturing carbon dioxide from the air and optimizing the MEA operating range within the proposed system through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and lab testing. The second objective is determining the relationship between the fan and centrifuge through physical prototyping. The third objective is designing the facility shape itself though a mix of CFD and physical prototyping.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.