I-Corps: Megaton carbon capture technology for point-source emitters

这个i-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种大规模的碳捕获技术。目前商业化的大规模碳捕获技术(胺洗涤和钙环)的运营成本很高，每吨50美元或更高。新兴的碳捕获技术，如金属有机骨架和复合吸着剂，通常不具备百万吨级部署所需的机械性能，如抗挤压能力。这项拟议的技术旨在实现百万吨规模的碳捕获，预计运营成本为30美元/吨。这是一项深入的技术创新，采用经过行业验证的订阅模式。当发电厂还没有碳捕获装置时，建议的技术将减少排放，如果发电厂已经有现有的碳捕获装置，则可以降低成本。这个i-Corps项目基于开发颗粒金属碳酸盐(GMC)作为点源二氧化碳(CO2)捕获的单组分固体吸附剂的开发。研磨的GMC颗粒通过造粒进行回收。GMC的可回收性限制了吸附剂的浪费，同时保持了较低的热容，实现了每吨捕获二氧化碳的最低成本。在潮湿和干燥的环境中，该技术可以从含5%-40%二氧化碳的烟道气中脱除90%的二氧化碳。该方法利用烟道气中的高二氧化碳浓度(5%)和过量热量，以较小的占地面积(工厂表面积的10%)实现经济的碳捕获。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a large-scale carbon capture technology. Current commercial large-scale carbon capture technologies (amine scrubbing and calcium looping) have a high operational cost of $50/ton or higher. Emerging carbon capture technologies such as metal organic framework and composite sorbent generally do not possess the mechanical properties such as crush resistance required for megaton-scale deployment. The proposed technology is designed to achieve megaton-scale carbon capture with an estimated operational cost of $30/ton. This is a deep technology innovation that works with an industrially-proven subscription model. The proposed technology will reduce the emissions when the powerplant does not already have a carbon capture unit, and reduce the cost if the power plant already has an existing carbon capture unit.This I-Corps project is based on the development of development of granular metal carbonate (GMC) as a single-ingredient solid adsorbent for point-source carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. Abrased GMC particles are recycled through granulation. The recyclability of GMC limits the waste of sorbent while maintaining a low heat capacity, achieving the lowest cost per ton of CO2 captured. The proposed technology may remove 90% of the CO2 from flue gases containing 5%-40% CO2 in humid and dry environments. This approach leverages the high CO2 concentration in the flue gas (5%) and excess heat to achieve economical carbon capture with a small footprint (10% of the plant’s surface area).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.