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

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响可能有助于创建一个可行的千兆吨级直接空气CO2（二氧化碳）捕获（DAC）技术。这项技术可以成为防止气候变化最严重影响的关键支柱。世纪以来，人类每年向大气中排放数十亿吨二氧化碳。随着更多的二氧化碳聚集在大气层中，捕获太阳光线，地球的温度持续上升。根据两党政策中心的说法，十亿吨规模的DAC将支持在美国创造一个万亿美元的产业，并支持300万个就业机会的发展。 该项目基于一种新颖的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：建设基础设施的成本和运行过程的能源。该系统用单乙醇胺（MEA）喷雾注入碳捕获流体，并用排气颗粒分离离心机去除喷雾。通过这种中空的设计，它不仅节省了建筑成本，而且可能会节省持续的能源成本。碳捕获接触器中的能量成本是压降或阻力的函数。该公司的假设是，离心机比目前接触器中使用的蜂窝状填料更符合空气动力学。 节能可以转化为具有显著较低压降的系统，因此，降低了运行的持续能源成本。该计划被组织成研究目标，调查每个领域的技术风险。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颗粒尺寸，并优化所提出的系统内的MEA操作范围。 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和物理原型的组合设计设施形状本身。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估而被认为值得支持。

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.