Removing carbon dioxide from an atmosphere and global thermostat

The present invention relates to systems and methods for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, in particular systems and methods for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, special attention is paid to the possibility of achieving three energy goals that are somewhat contradictory: 1) providing an economic source of energy required for economic development, 2) achieving energy security, 3) avoiding destructive climate change caused by global warming. Many different approaches are being considered to address climate change, including increasing the use of clean and non-polluting renewable energy sources, such as biofuels, solar, wind, and nuclear energy, as well as the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide emissions from installations using fossil fuels, as well as increased energy saving efforts. The use of some of the above approaches, such as the use of solar energy, is currently limited due to the high costs compared to electricity obtained from fossil fuels, while other approaches such as nuclear energy are limited by environmental and security threats. In fact, infrastructure and power systems using renewable energy sources are underdeveloped (e.g. only about 0.01% of energy is solar energy) that it is practically impossible to completely reduce the use of fossil fuels by the end of this century if energy is required for economic development and the reduction of energy deficits that could lead to conflicts.

Since the first Earth Day in 1972, the threats of climate change caused by global warming have been constantly increasing, as well as the awareness of the need to use renewable energy sources that do not harm our planet. There is no doubt that the increasing amount of so-called greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (other greenhouse gases are, for example, methane and steam), causes the planet's temperature to rise. Greenhouse gases reduce the amount of heat dissipated from our planet to the atmosphere, therefore, the higher the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the higher the temperature of the planet. There are natural complex relationships that cause changes in the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, also without affecting human activities. Climate change in the history of our planet has caused the extinction of many species. The problem of the threat posed by climate change caused by the impact of human activities (i.e. global warming) has resulted in the approval of the Kyoto Protocol by more than 165 countries, which is an international agreement that obliges developed countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

One of the reasons global warming, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), poses a threat is the rise in sea level due to the melting of glaciers and the expansion of the oceans as the temperature of our planet increases. Hundreds of millions of people living just above sea level on islands or coasts are exposed to destructive floods requiring resettlement or construction of coastal dikes, even if the sea level increases by up to one meter. There is also a threat to other species due to climate change, which can destroy ecosystems that cannot adapt to the speed of human-caused climate change. Additional threats may include increased incidence

- EP 2160234 infectious diseases and extreme weather phenomena, as well as the imminent threat caused by high temperature.

Challenges related to solving the problem of global warming can be presented in the form of a simple model. CCA (YN) is carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere in YN in gigatons per year. Similarly, if CEX (YN) is equal to the amount of CO2 extracted, CEM (YN) is equal to the amount of CO2 emitted as a result of human activities, and CN (YN) is equal to the amount of CO2 added or removed as a result of natural carbon cycle changes. At present, the earth consumes about 1.8 gigatons (10⁹ tons) of carbon dioxide per year, while the oceans absorb about 10.5 gigatons (note that carbon dioxide is 3.66 times heavier than carbon), while the amount of carbon dioxide emitted as a result of human activities is about 24 gigatons. Generally:

(l) Cca (Yn) = - Cex (Yn) + Cem (Yn) + Cn (Yn) (2) Ca (Yn₊i) = Ca (Yn) + Cca (Yn) where CA (YN) is the amount of carbon in the atmosphere in the year YN, 2780 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide at present. Other forms of carbon also contribute to global warming, in particular methane, with a small proportion by weight.

If CEx (YN) is zero, the only way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere is to reduce emissions to natural consumption levels. At the same time, the CN (YN) value can vary considerably and may be a net addition to a much larger natural carbon cycle, which causes fluctuations in the amount of carbon in the range of about 750 gigatonnes of carbon per year. Changes in the natural balance that have caused historical climate change to date will continue to occur in the future. It is clear that there is no solution that consists solely of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from human activities that eliminates the risk of climate change. Thanks to the extraction of air and the possibility of increasing or reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, theoretically, you can compensate for the amount of other greenhouse gases, such as methane, the concentration of which can change and cause climate change.

Accordingly, the need to develop a system and method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere emitted as a result of burning fossil fuels and providing an economical, renewable and non-polluting energy source as an alternative to fossil fuels was also identified.

WO 2007/016271 discloses a process for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The process involves the use of a base coated with an alkaline reagent such as sodium or potassium carbonate or hydroxide. The process also includes the step of transferring the absorbed carbon dioxide to the second amine absorbent, which is then subjected to thermal regeneration, and the carbon dioxide thus generated is sequestered.

The present invention is a system and method according to claims 1 and 6.

In at least one embodiment, the air extraction system is selected from a group of air contactors including: convection towers, absorption tanks, packed scrubbers and gas separation systems, some containing cake-shaped substrates with a medium that extracts carbon dioxide from the air. In its broadest context, the present invention is a construction in which air flows and contacts the agent that extracts CO2. Currently, in the most likely embodiment, the structure is characterized by a large surface perpendicular to the direction of air flow and is very thin in the direction of air flow, the factor is a porous substrate on the surface of which an amine or an alternative is applied

EP 2160234 CO2 binding compound, the agent has a large cross-section and is very thin, as is the design of the contactor in which it is located.

In at least one embodiment, the system is located underground. In at least one embodiment, the system is located in a remote location in front of one or more system components.

In at least one embodiment, the absorber comprises an amine, preferably an amine bound to a large surface area of ​​a porous substrate.

In at least one embodiment, the separation step comprises at least one of the processes: sequestering with minerals or injecting gas under pressure into geological formations.

The principles of the present invention can be used to develop a global thermostat to control the planet’s average atmosphere temperature by using multiple systems according to the principles of the present invention, each of which allows achieving a negative impact of carbon dioxide on the planet's atmosphere by extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and using technological heat to extract carbon dioxide from the agent and to regenerate the sorbent (agent) for use in the next adsorption cycle. Thus, many systems enable the effective extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a speed greater than the rate of carbon dioxide introduction into the atmosphere (as well as enabling the generation of renewable carbon fuel from extracted gases).

The preferred concept for the extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the use of technological heat to separate carbon dioxide from the agent is an important way to solve the problem of global warming, and is contrary to generally available knowledge in this field. In particular, the use of technological heat to solve the global warming problem by extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from low-concentration ambient air is a very attractive solution compared to the standard approach to CO2 extraction from high-concentration flue gas and other CO2 extraction methods from ambient air known in the art. The second case is the opposite of the general belief that achieving 300 times lower CO2 concentration in the ambient atmosphere is 300 times more expensive, due to the increase in separation costs inversely proportional to the concentration. Federal funds are used to extract CO2 from power plant flue gas emissions (e.g. clean coal), and experts publicly say that the use of ambient air, unlike flue gas, does not make sense. The unlimited amount of ambient air compared to the limited exhaust gas resources is one of the advantages that ensure the effectiveness of this approach, despite generally accepted knowledge and practice. For flue gas, CO2 containing emissions have a higher temperature (6570^aboutC) and thus regeneration uses heat at a higher temperature, which is more expensive than in the case of cool ambient air (about 25-30^aboutC). Other benefits of this approach are available, such as the possibility of using very thin separation devices that also provide additional process improvements. Thus, CO2 removal by transferring process heat to a global thermostat that operates according to the present invention can be less expensive instead of directly cleaning the exhaust emissions. In addition, the approach of the present invention provides negative carbon emissions, reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, while flue gas cleaning only prevents the amount of CO2 in the air from increasing.

Additional analysis indicates that global warming cannot be tackled immediately to reduce risk by purifying large sources of stationary fossil fuels such as coal-fired power plants or by saving energy or using renewable energy sources. As with the present invention, it is required to extract CO2 from the atmosphere (negative carbon), thereby reducing the concentration in the ambient air and reducing the threat of global warming. Other published methods

The extraction of CO2 from the ambient atmosphere uses heat at a higher temperature rather than process heat and is therefore not usually considered due to high energy costs.

In addition, the preferred concept of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere involves the use of a substrate with a large surface perpendicular to the direction of air flow, which should be porous and with a large surface, and a factor (e.g. amine) that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the use of process heat to remove dioxide carbon from the factor. The use of a substrate with a large surface perpendicular to the direction of air flow is particularly useful because of the low concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (as opposed to the relatively high concentration normally found in exhaust gases, for example).

These and other functions of the present invention have been described in or are apparent from the following detailed description (and attached illustrations) of various embodiments of the present invention.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the following illustrations:

In FIG. 1 is a general block diagram of a system for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an embodiment of the present invention;

In FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an embodiment of the present invention;

In FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an air extraction system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

In FIG. 4 is a map of a global thermostat according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

In FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an embodiment of the present invention;

In FIG. 6 is a schematic of one version of the agent for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removing carbon dioxide from the agent according to the principles of the present invention;

In FIG. 7 is a schematic of another version of the agent for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removing carbon dioxide from the agent according to the principles of the present invention;

In FIG. 8 shows another version of the agent for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removing carbon dioxide from the agent according to the principles of the present invention; and

In FIG. 9 is a schematic of another version of the agent for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removing carbon dioxide from the agent according to the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1 is a general block diagram of a system, in particular reference number 1, for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an embodiment of the present invention. System 1 includes an air extraction system 40 and a collection system 50 that separates the removed carbon dioxide to a designated place in order to carry out at least one of the processes: sequestration, storage and production of renewable carbon fuel or the production of products other than fuels such as fertilizers and materials Building. An air extraction system preferably comprising any known or future method for extracting CO2, including methods that utilize the agent to absorb and / or bind CO2 from atmospheric air by subjecting the agent to chemical, electrical and / or physical processes from CO2 in the capture air. The medium may be liquid, gaseous or solid or a combination

- EP 2160234 liquid, gaseous or solid substances, where in the case of solid substances their surface is preferably porous. The agent may advantageously be recycled, such that after CO2 capture by the agent and separation from the agent for sequestration, the agent may be reused to absorb / bind additional CO2. In other embodiments, the agent may be sequestered with the captured CO2. According to FIG. 1, the separation of CO2 from the agent, as well as other processes such as CO2 absorption / binding and CO2 sequestration carried out by the sequestration system 50, can be carried out effectively by supplying heat to the air extraction system 40. According to the present invention, the heat is process heat generated on example by a solar power source, such as a solar collector, described in detail below. In other embodiments, process heat may be provided by other energy sources, such as, for example, fossil, geothermal, nuclear, biomass and other renewable energy sources. The term "process heat" used below refers to lower temperature heat that is left after high temperature heat is used to generate electricity. Generally, the term "process heat" refers to any low-temperature heat left after or added to a process, such as, for example, exothermic carbonation reactions in which carbon dioxide is stored as a mineral or during binding to the agent and capture. In addition, "process heat" can be provided by using energy sources to produce products other than power or electricity. For example, primary processing, such as chemical processes, cement, steel or aluminum production, production of energy products, such as coal and liquid energy products, refining, can use heat to power primary processing, and unused heat remaining after primary processing or generated during primary processing may be process heat from processing and may be used in a system or method according to the principles of the present invention.

The preferred concept for the extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the use of technological heat to separate carbon dioxide from the agent is an important way to solve the problem of global warming, and is contrary to generally available knowledge in this field. In particular, the use of technological heat to solve the global warming problem by extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from low-concentration ambient air is a very attractive solution compared to the standard approach to CO2 extraction from high-concentration flue gas and other CO2 extraction methods from ambient air known in the art. The second case is the opposite of the general belief that achieving 300 times lower CO2 concentration in the ambient atmosphere is 300 times more expensive, due to the increase in separation costs inversely proportional to the concentration. Federal funds are used to extract CO2 from power plant flue gas emissions (e.g. clean coal), and experts publicly say that the use of ambient air, unlike flue gas, does not make sense. The unlimited amount of ambient air compared to the limited exhaust gas resources is one of the advantages that ensure the effectiveness of this approach, despite generally accepted knowledge and practice. For flue gas, CO2 containing emissions have a higher temperature (6570^aboutC) and thus regeneration uses heat at a higher temperature, which is more expensive than in the case of cool ambient air (about 25-30^aboutC). Other benefits of this approach are available, such as the possibility of using very thin separation devices that also provide additional process improvements. Thus, CO2 removal by transferring process heat to a global thermostat that operates according to the present invention can be less expensive instead of directly cleaning the exhaust emissions. In addition, the approach of the present invention provides negative carbon emissions, reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, while flue gas cleaning only prevents the amount of CO2 in the air from increasing.

- EP 2160234

Additional analysis indicates that global warming cannot be tackled immediately to reduce risk by purifying large sources of stationary fossil fuels such as coal-fired power plants or by saving energy or using renewable energy sources. As is the case with the present invention, the possibility of extracting CO2 from the atmosphere (negative carbon) and thus reducing the CO2 concentration in the air and the risks associated with global warming are required. Other published CO2 extraction methods from the ambient atmosphere use higher temperature heat instead of process heat and are therefore not usually considered due to high energy costs.

In FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system, in particular reference number 2, for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an embodiment of the present invention. System 2 includes solar collector 10, optional additional energy source 20, energy source 30, air extraction system 42 and collection system 50. The components of system 1 are described in detail below.

The solar collector 10 may be any or future solar energy storage system that may include solar energy storage assemblies, such as parabolic mirrors and solar towers, for example. According to the state of the art, the solar collector 10 converts solar energy into thermal energy, which can be used to power an electricity source 30. Other thermal energy (i.e. process heat) can be used to power the air extraction system 42 and / or collection system 50. For example, process heat can be used to improve the efficiency of the chemical and / or physical reaction used in the air extraction system 42 to absorb CO2 from air and / or CO2 removal from the refrigerant. In addition, in other embodiments, according to the dotted arrows of FIG. 2, direct heat from the solar collector 10 can be used to power the air extraction system 42 and / or collection system 50.

For example, the electrical energy source 30 may be a thermal energy source that converts thermal energy provided by the solar collector to electricity. According to the state of the art, solar energy can be focused on a carrier, such as molten salts, which is then used in the process of producing high temperature and high pressure steam that drives a turbine to generate electricity. The generated electricity, in addition to providing energy for the general population within the power grid, can also be used to power other elements of the system 2. Thermal energy supplied by the solar collector 10 can be supplemented by energy generated by an additional energy source 20. For example, an additional source energy 20 can be a waste incineration plant that provides additional thermal energy to the electricity source 30. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that in addition to solar energy, another renewable energy source, preferably a renewable energy source, which generates heat as a precursor for electricity generation can be used. Other potential renewable energy sources used outside of solar energy include, for example, nuclear and geothermal energy sources and biomass.

Alternatively, the electricity source 30 may be a known source of energy or a fossil fuel installation that operates by burning fossil fuels, such as, for example, coal, heating oil, natural gas, oil shale to generate electricity. The source of electricity may also be used for purposes other than the production of electricity, for example, the source of electricity may be used in chemical processes or for other purposes, for example the production of aluminum). Thermal energy generated by a fossil fuel power plant 30 is used to generate electricity, while residual thermal energy (i.e. process heat) can be used to drive air extraction system 42 and / or sequestration system 50. For example, process heat from a fossil fuel plant 30 can be used to improve the efficiency of chemical and / or physical reactions used in the system

- extracting air 42 to absorb CO2 from air and / or to remove CO2 from the agent. The residual heat provided by the fossil fuel power plant 30 can be supplemented by energy generated by an additional source of electricity. For example, the additional energy source can be a waste incineration plant or a renewable energy source, such as, for example, a source of solar, atomic, biomass and geothermal energy, which provide additional thermal energy to supply the air extraction system 42 and / or the collection system 50. Heat technological from an additional source of electricity can also be used to power the air extraction system 42 and / or the collection system 50.

In addition, as described above, process heat can be provided by using energy sources to produce products other than power or electricity. For example, primary processing, such as chemical processes, cement, steel or aluminum production, production of energy products, such as coal and liquid energy products, refining, can use heat to power primary processing, and unused heat remaining after primary processing or generated during primary processing may be process heat from processing and may be used in a system or method according to the principles of the present invention.

In FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an air extraction system 42 used with system 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The air extraction system 42 includes an air contactor 41, a caustic 43, a fire extinguisher 45, a calciner 47 and a capture unit 49. The air contactor 41 may use the sorbent for the selective capture of CO2 from the air and may be any structure known in the art, for example large convection towers, open, standing tanks or packed scrubbers. In the present embodiment, the sorbent may be sodium hydroxide (NaOH), which largely absorbs CO2 from the air. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that other known or future capture methods can be used, such as, for example, chemical absorption, physical absorption, low-temperature distillation, gas separation membranes, mineralization, biomineralization and vegetation. As an example, in the prior art, sorbents such as aqueous amine solutions or amine-enriched solid sorbents can be used for CO2 absorption. Preferably, the sorbent is regenerated, and the capture method requires heat below about 100-120 ° C to regenerate the sorbent.

In this embodiment, CO2 may be absorbed on air contactor 41 by a NaOH solution to produce sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), e.g., as described by Stolaroff and others in the article "A pilot-scale prototype contactor for CO2 capture from ambient air: cost and energy requirements ”available on the website <a href="http://www.ucalgary.ca/-keith/papers/84.Stolaroff.AirCaptureGHGT-8.p.pdf._Jako_rozwi%c4%85zanie_alternatywne_lub_wraz_zroztworem_NaOH_mog%c4%85_by%c4%87_stosowane_inne_znane_lub_opracowane_w_przysz%c5%82o%c5%9bci_absorbery.Wytwarzany_Na2CO3_jest_nast%c4%99pnie_przenoszony_do_kaustyzatora_43,_gdzie_NaOH_jestregenerowany_przez_dodatek_wapna_(CaO)_w_procesie_okresowym._Otrzymany_sta%c5%82y_w%c4%99glanwapnia_CaCO3_jest_przenoszony_do_kalcynatora_47,_gdzie_jest_on_ogrzewany_w_piecu_w_celuregeneracji_CaO,_z_usuni%c4%99cie_CO2_w_procesie_zwanym_kalcynowaniem._Regenerowany_CaO_jestnast%c4%99pnie_przenoszony_do_ga%c5%9bnika_45,_w_kt%c3%b3rym_wytwarzane_jest_wapno_gaszone_Ca(OH)2_dozastosowania_w_kaustyzatorze_43">www.ucalgary.ca/keith/papers/84.Stolaroff.AirCaptureGHGT-8.p.pdf. As an alternative solution or together with NaOH solution other known or developed in the future absorbers may be used. The Na2CO3 produced is then transferred to the caustizer 43, where NaOH is regenerated by the addition of lime (CaO) in a batch process. The resulting solid calcium carbonate CaCO3 is transferred to calciner 47, where it is heated in an oven to regenerate CaO, with the removal of CO2 in a process called calcining. The regenerated CaO is then transferred to a fire extinguisher 45, in which slaked lime Ca (OH) 2 is produced for use in a causticizer 43</a>.

The capture unit 49 captures CO2 removed from the calciner 47 using any known or future CO2 capture method that is effective at low concentrations where CO2 is present in the atmosphere and requires low temperature heat for regeneration. For example, the capture assembly 49 may use an amine based capture system, such as the system described by Gray and others in US Patent Application 6,547,854, filed April 15, 2003, and by Sirwardane in U.S. Patent Application No. 6908497 filed June 21, 2005. Team

Capture 21 can also compress captured CO2 into liquid form, facilitating its separation.

The collection system 50 separates the removed carbon dioxide to a designated location in order to carry out at least one of the processes: sequestration, storage or production of renewable carbon fuel or the production of non-fuel products such as fertilizers and building materials. The collection system 50 can utilize known or developed methods of sequestering and / or storing coal, such as, for example, injection into geological formations or sequestration with minerals. In the case of injection, captured CO2 may be sequestered in geological formations, such as, for example, oil and gas resources, thin coal seams unsuitable for extraction, or deep salt resources. In this regard, in many cases, CO2 injection into geological formations can improve hydrocarbon recovery by providing added value by-products that reduce the cost of CO2 capture and storage. For example, injecting CO2 into crude oil or natural gas resources allows products to be obtained in a process known as intensification of oil production. The captured CO2 may be sequestered underground and in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present embodiment, at a remote location behind other components of the system 2, so that any leakage from the location is again captured by the system 2.

In the case of sequestration with minerals, CO2 can be sequestered by the saturation reaction of calcium and magnesium silicate, which occur naturally in mineral deposits with carbon dioxide. For example, according to reactions (1) and (2) below, CO2 may react with forsterite and serpentine to form solid calcium and magnesium carbonates in an exothermic reaction.

(l) i / 2Mg_andSiO₄ + C0₂ = MgCOg +! / 2SiO₂ + 95kJ / mole (2) and / 3Mg₃si₂ABOUT₅(OH)₄ + COa = MgCO₃ + 2/3810 = + 2/3 ^ 0 + 64kJ / mole

Both of these reactions occur to a greater extent at low temperature. In this regard, both air capture and sequestration processes described below can use the electricity and / or heat energy generated by the solar collector 10 (or other renewable energy sources) to power the required reactions and various system components. In an embodiment of the present invention, the high temperature carrier can be heated to a temperature in the range of from about 400 ° C to about 500 ° C to produce steam for supplying the power source, while lower temperature steam leaving the turbines can be used to CO2 separation and sorbent regeneration (e.g., NaOH). The high temperature heat temperature, the electricity produced and the temperature of the low temperature process heat remaining after electricity generation can be adjusted to supply both the electricity generation process and CO2 removal, optimally for the given application. In addition, in embodiments, process heat at still lower temperature from capture and sequestration processes can be used to cool equipment used in these processes.

One or more systems for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can be used as part of a global thermostat in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. By regulating the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and thus the greenhouse effect due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide and other gases, the systems described below can be used to change the global average temperature. According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, several carbon dioxide capture and sequestration systems can be located in various places around the world, and the operation of many systems can be

- EP 2160234 used to change the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and thus change the impact of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere of our planet. Systems application locations can be selected to impact as much as possible on areas such as large industrial centers and cities with high population density or natural local CO2 sources that can cause local high CO2 concentrations, providing more cost-effective CO2 capture methods. For example according to FIG. 4, many systems 1 can be deployed around the world, while the regulation and construction and control of these systems 1 can be implemented through cooperation, financing and international agreements. In this regard, the concentration of greenhouse gases can be changed to change the average temperature of the global planet to avoid periods of warming and cooling, which can be harmful to humans and ecosystems. In the history of our planet so far, many periods of glaciation and rapid temperature fluctuations have been noted, which have caused global damage and mass extinction. Future temperature fluctuations can also cause massive destruction and destabilization of society as a result of conflicts resulting from limited natural resources. The global thermostat of the present invention avoids this type of disaster in the coming decades.

In FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system, in particular reference number 100, for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an embodiment of the present invention. System 100 includes a renewable energy source 110, an optional additional energy source 120, an electricity source 130, an air extraction system 142, and an accumulation system 150. This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. The process of claim 2, wherein the renewable energy source 110 may be any known or discovered in the future energy source other than solar energy, such as, for example, nuclear and geothermal energy sources and biomass. Preferably, the renewable energy source produces thermal energy that can be used to generate electricity and improve the efficiency of various chemical and / or physical reactions occurring in the air extraction system 142 and the collection system 150. The air extraction system 142 and the collection system 150 may be the systems described in relation to previous embodiments or may include components according to known or developed in the future air extraction systems and collection systems. In addition, according to FIG. 4, with respect to previous embodiments, many systems 100 can be strategically deployed around the world, control of systems 100 can be coordinated to form a global thermostat.

In FIG. 6-9 is a diagram of several methods for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to the principles of the present invention.

In particular, in FIG. 6 shows a pair of substrates 600, 602 with an agent (e.g. NaOH, amine) which are in contact with the atmosphere to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Substrates 600, 602 are shaped like a cake with a relatively large surface in relation to thickness and vertical orientation, where each substrate has a relatively large surface and small thickness (e.g., on the order of several millimeters and preferably not exceeding one meter). Any surface can move (e.g. through a pulley system, not shown) between the upper position in which air containing carbon dioxide contacts the medium on the ground to remove carbon dioxide from the air and the lower position in which process heat is directed to the ground to remove carbon dioxide from agent. Substrates 600, 602 are porous and have a large surface, so that air directed to the substrate can flow through the substrate. If the substrate is in the upper position (e.g. substrate position 600), the air containing carbon dioxide is directed to the substrate (e.g. through a fan 604 shown in dashed line) in such a way that the air flows through the substrate, the carbon dioxide contacts the medium and is largely removed from the air. Thus, air containing carbon dioxide is directed to and through the substrate in such a way that carbon dioxide is in contact with the agent, carbon dioxide is in

EP 2160234 is largely removed from the air by the medium, and the air from which carbon dioxide has been removed to a large extent is directed away from the ground. If the ground is in the lower position (e.g. ground position 602), the process heat is directed to the ground (e.g. via liquid conduit 606), and carbon dioxide is removed (discharged) by a source of liquid that flows through the substrate (in the direction of arrow (609) and a suction source 610 that removes carbon dioxide from the medium, is discharged from the substrate. Substrates 600, 602 can alternatively move between the upper and lower positions, such that placing the substrate in the upper position allows the removal of carbon dioxide from the air, while setting the substrate in the lower position allows removing the carbon dioxide from the substrate. It should be noted that in the presence of strong wind, it can be used to force air flow through the ground instead of the fan. In addition, as described above, the fan can be replaced with a source of solar energy (air currents driven by wind or heat energy), which allows for an additional increase in efficiency and reduction of the cost of extracting carbon dioxide from atmospheric air. In addition, instead of changing the location of the substrate, when capturing carbon dioxide from the air and then extracting it from the agent, other methods may be used to generate air flow, process heat flow, and carbon dioxide flow away from the substrate, which is obvious to experts in the field .

In FIG. 7 is a schematic of another version of the agent for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removing carbon dioxide from the agent according to the principles of the present invention. In particular, in FIG. 7 shows a pair of substrates 700, 702 with an applied agent (e.g., NaOH, amine) which are in contact with the atmosphere to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Substrates 700, 702 are oriented in a horizontal orientation, have a relatively large surface and small thickness (e.g. on the order of millimeters or centimeters). The substrates can move horizontally (e.g. through a pulley system not shown) between the position of the air extraction in which the air containing carbon dioxide is in contact with the medium applied to the substrate on which the carbon dioxide is removed from the air, and the position of the carbon dioxide extraction in which process heat is directed through the substrate to remove carbon dioxide from the agent. Substrates 700, 702 are porous, and air directed to the substrate can flow through the substrate. If the substrate is in the air extraction position (e.g., substrate position 700), the carbon dioxide-containing air is directed to the substrate (e.g., through a fan 704 shown with a dashed line) so that the air flows through the substrate, the carbon dioxide contacts the factor and is largely removed from the air. Thus, air containing carbon dioxide is directed to and through the substrate in such a way that carbon dioxide is in contact with the agent, carbon dioxide is largely removed from the air by the agent, and the air from which carbon dioxide has been largely removed is directed away from the ground. If the substrate is in the position of carbon dioxide extraction (e.g. substrate position 702), the process heat is directed to the substrate (e.g. via liquid line 706), and carbon dioxide is removed (discharged) by a liquid source that is directed to the substrate (in the direction of arrow 708), and a suction source 710 that removes carbon dioxide from the medium is discharged from the substrate. Substrates 700, 702 may alternatively move between the positions of air extraction and carbon extraction, such that the substrate in the air extraction position removes carbon dioxide from the air, and carbon dioxide is removed from the substrate at the carbon extraction position. It should be noted that in the presence of strong wind, it can be used to force air flow through the ground instead of the fan. In addition, as described above, the fan can be replaced with a source of solar energy (air currents driven by wind or heat energy), which allows for an additional increase in efficiency and reduction of the cost of extracting carbon dioxide from atmospheric air. In addition, instead of changing the position of the substrate, other methods of generating air flow may be used when capturing carbon dioxide from the air and then extracting it from the agent,

EP 2160234 process heat flow and carbon dioxide flow away from the substrate, which is obvious to those skilled in the art.

The version of the invention according to FIG. 9 is usually close to the horizontal orientation version according to FIG. 7, wherein in the version of FIG. 9, as a source of displacement of carbon dioxide-containing air through the substrate in the air extraction position (e.g. substrate 900), a gas flow source powered by a solar tower or solar chimney is available instead of the fan (shown schematically in FIG. 9, item 912). A solar chimney can be created by heating the air mass by solar energy. The solar chimney has a sheath (represented by dashed line 913, FIG. 9) that concentrates air heated by the sun inside the chimney. Thus, a solar field with a solar chimney can be associated with a system and structure that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removes carbon dioxide from the agent as shown and described with reference to FIG. 7. Instead of the fan 704, as the main source of displacement of carbon dioxide air through the substrate, the carbon dioxide air is heated by solar energy and flows upwards in a chimney or solar tower 912. Due to the tendency of hot air to flow upwards, a draft is generated in the direction up, which may include air containing carbon dioxide, while the substrate 900 may be oriented in the direction of the air. Thus, air containing carbon dioxide can be directed through substrate 900 in the air extraction position, and carbon dioxide can be removed from substrate 902 in the carbon extraction position in the same manner as shown with reference to FIG. 7. By supplying the process of extracting carbon dioxide from the air by solar energy, the extraction cost is reduced and the process is renewable. Of course, special measures are required when solar radiation is not available, and a specific drive form similar to fan 705 is required (FIG. 7). In any case, in periods when a solar source is used instead of a fan (or wind currents driven by wind or heat), the costs of extracting carbon dioxide from atmospheric air can be further improved and reduced.

In FIG. 8 is a schematic of another version of the agent for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removing carbon dioxide from the agent according to the principles of the present invention. According to FIG. 8, the agent from which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmospheric air and from which carbon dioxide is removed from the agent is applied to a constantly moving substrate 800. The substrate moves through an air extraction zone 814 in which air containing carbon dioxide is directed and flows through the substrate (which is also porous as in other embodiments) in such a way that carbon dioxide is removed from the air. Substrate 800 is then moved to coal extraction zone 816, in which process heat is directed to the substrate and carbon is removed from the substrate as described above with reference to FIG. 6, 7. Subsequently, the substrate 800 moves to and through the heat exchange zone 818, in which the substrate temperature is lowered (e.g., by air flowing through the substrate in the air extraction zone, and any additional cooling device that provides a reduction of the substrate temperature to a level that allows efficient removing carbon dioxide from the air as the substrate moves through the extraction zone 814. In addition, the system of FIG. 8 it may have an additional carbon extraction zone 816 in which process heat is directed to the substrate and carbon is removed from the substrate as described in reference to FIG. 6, 7.

It should be noted that in all versions of the present invention, the removal of carbon dioxide from air can be at least partially carried out under unbalanced conditions. In addition, it should be noted that the preferred concept for extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere involves the use of a relatively thin substrate with a large surface area of ​​applied agent (e.g. amine), which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the use of process heat to remove carbon dioxide from the agent. The use of a substrate with a large surface perpendicular to the direction of the airflow is particularly advantageous with

- due to the relatively low concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (as opposed to the relatively high concentration that normally occurs, for example, in flue gas).

"ATENTOWA" BELLEPAT "LAW OFFICE

Izabela Szych uluka-Hawranek ul Słowackiego 44, 37-700 Przeoj ^ śl tel (016) 732-37-77 fax: (016) 675-02-87 mobile phone, (0608) 503-081 e-mati <a href="mailto:bellepat@cp.pl">bellepat@cp.pl</a> NIP: 795-207-16-72 REGON: 180350516

Proxy:

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EP 2160234