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Most prior research and development efforts on carbon dioxide capture have focused on point source capture from concentrated flue gas streams. Compared with point source capture, direct air capture, or DAC, is a relatively new concept with unexplored technical and economic challenges. Two major challenges associated with DAC are the high potential capital equipment and energy costs associated with moving large volumes of air through the capture system.

There are over 100 million residential buildings and 5.6 million commercial buildings in the United States, according to the latest statistics provided by DOE Building Technologies Office. The majority of these buildings are equipped with air conditioning and ventilation equipment that provides thermal comfort and air quality control for the occupants. These air handling systems can potentially serve the additional function of direct air capture. Adding a DAC function to a building HVAC system has the potential to significantly reduce capital expenditure costs for DAC by leveraging already required equipment infrastructure.

Through new chemistry, materials, and processes, ORNL researchers are developing a highly compact and energy efficient carbon capture technology, which can enable wide-spread implementation in a cost effective manner. The team is using the full capabilities of ORNL facilities for modeling and simulation as well as characterization of new materials.

Benefits

• Components made from low-cost renewable materials
• Materials can be produced in forms used in air filtration
• Broad adoption of direct air capture technology
• Less carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere

Applications and Industries

• Construction
• HVAC and refrigeration

Contact

To learn more about this technology, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call 865-574-1051.