System and method for carbon dioxide capture and sequestration

A system and method for capturing carbon dioxide and separating its ions

System and Method For Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration

Full description

Background of the invention

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

A - Much attention has been focused on trying to achieve three somewhat conflicting energy-related goals: 1) providing potential energy for economic development; 2) energy security; And 3) avoiding harmful climate change resulting from global warming. However, there is no practical way to avoid the use of fossil fuels during the remainder of this century if we are to obtain the energy needed for economic prosperity and avoid energy deficits that would lead to conflict.

B- There is no doubt that the increase in the amount of so-called greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (methane and water vapor are the other major greenhouse gases) will increase the temperature of the universe.

C- It is clear that there is no solution that can reduce human contributions to carbon dioxide emissions, which could eliminate the seriousness of climate change. With air extraction and the ability to increase or decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, one can replace other greenhouse gases such as methane that can change their concentrations and cause climate change.

General description of the invention

The present invention provides the principles of a new and useful system and method for removing carbon dioxide from a mass of CO2-laden air by directing the CO2-laden air through a sorbent structure that binds (traps) the CO2, and then removing the CO2 from the absorbent structure (resulting in Effective regeneration of the absorbent structure) by using process heat, preferably in the form of steam, to heat the absorbent structure. In this application, the absorbent structure preferably comprises an amine bound to CO2, which is carried by a substrate, which may be solid particles or a separate absorbent structure. Regardless of whether the substrate is a layer of particulate matter or in separate form, adsorbent adsorbent is preferred on the surfaces of the substrate. In addition, herein, reference to “mass” (or “flow” or “stream”) of CO2-laden air (or carbon dioxide-laden air) means air at a given location with a CO2 concentration similar to the CO2 concentration at The atmosphere at that location, and the temperature at that location.

It has been thought that when air laden with carbon dioxide is directed through a substrate coated with (or embedded in) an absorbent material that absorbs or binds to the carbon dioxide, the carbon dioxide is removed from the air. The heat of the process converted into the form of vapor or another medium (such as a gas) is directed at the sorbent, to separate the carbon dioxide from the sorbent (and thus the carbon dioxide can be withdrawn and the sequestration ions can be removed), and to renew the sorbent (so that the sorbent can continue to be used). To remove carbon dioxide from the air). In one of its essential aspects, this application provides additional structures and technologies for separating carbon dioxide from airborne carbon dioxide, using process heat to separate carbon dioxide from the sorbent and then regenerating the sorbent.

Furthermore, in another aspect, this application provides some additional structures and technologies that can be used to capture CO2 from the CO2-laden air and use the process heat to separate the CO2 from the sorbent and then regenerate the sorbent, which helps separate the CO2 from the sorbent. Carbon dioxide and carry out the regeneration process directly with the source of flue gases that may be emitted directly from the source, then directing the carbon dioxide-laden air into the atmosphere.

In addition, this invention provides a relatively pure and relatively low-cost source of CO2 for beneficial uses such as eutrophic algae farms for biofuel production, where the capture costs represent the total cost of supplying the CO2.

The aforementioned and other features of the present invention will be described or will become apparent from the following detailed description and the attached figures and displays.

Brief explanation of the drawings

Figures 1 through 9 illustrate the principles of the system and method described in an earlier US application by the same inventor, specifically US Application No. 124864/12,

(a) Figure 1 is a general box diagram of a system capable of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention in US Application No. 124864/12;

(b) Figure 2 is a box diagram of a system for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention contained in US Application No. 12/124864;

C- Figure 3 is a box diagram of an air extraction system according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention contained in US Application No. 124864/12;

(d) Figure 4 is a map showing a generic thermostat according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention contained in US Application No. 124864/12;

e- Figure 5 is a box diagram of a system capable of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention contained in US Application No. 12/124864;

(f) Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of one form of a medium for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and for removing carbon dioxide from the medium, according to the invention in US Application No. 12/124864;

(g) Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another image of a medium for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and for removing carbon dioxide from the medium, according to the invention in US Application No. 12/124864;

h- Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of yet another image of a medium for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and for removing carbon dioxide from the medium, according to the invention in US Application No. 12/124864; And

(i) Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another image of a medium for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and for removing carbon dioxide from the medium, according to the invention in US Application No. 12/124864.

Figures 10a and 10b schematically show two versions of the structure and technology for removing carbon dioxide from carbon dioxide-laden air; and regeneration of the sorbent that absorbs or binds to carbon dioxide, according to the principles of the present invention; Figure 10a, where the absorption time is considerably greater than the regeneration time; Figure 10b, where the absorption time is approximately equal to the regeneration time;

Figures 10c and 10d are top and side views of an image of the elevator structure for use in the system and method of Figures 10a and 10b, in one of their operational positions;

Figures 10e and 10f are top and side views of the elevator structure in Figures 10c and 10d, in another operational position;

Figure 10G shows schematically the details of a structure that can be used to extract captured CO2 and regenerate the sorbent, according to the principles of the present invention;

Figure 10h is an enlarged diagram of the basic principles of the crane structure given in the model of Figures 10a and 10b;

Figures 11a and 11b are schematic figures for two versions of a structure and technology for removing carbon dioxide from carbon dioxide-laden air, and regenerating the sorbent that absorbs or binds to carbon dioxide, according to the principles of the present invention;

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a sorbent support structure of the type produced by Corning under the trade name Celcor, which may be used as a sorbent substrate, according to the principles of the present invention.

Figures 13a to 13c are schematic diagrams of a suitable porous substrate, showing the amine adsorbents carried in the pores of each substrate;

Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of an example of an experimental CO2 removal device;

Figure 15 is a typical CO2 adsorption profile, in this case for a Class 1 adsorbent, PEI, on a particulate porous silica substrate.

Detailed description:

Background to the principles of the system and method of application No. 12/124864

Initially, it is thought useful to describe the method and system of US Application No. 12/124864, to provide background to additional methods used by the present invention in developing these principles. Figures 1 through 9 illustrate the system and method of US Application No. 124864/12. Figure 1 shows a general box diagram of a system, generally referred to as reference 1, for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. System 1 includes an air extraction system 40 and a collection system 50 that sequesters the removed carbon dioxide to a site to perform one of the following processes, sequestration and storage and generation of a renewable carbon fuel fuel or to generate a non-fuel product such as fertilizer and construction materials (or for use in green houses or to improve the rate of microbial production for fossil fuels). Air extraction system 40 shall preferably include any known or recently discovered CO2 extraction method, including methods that use a medium (also referred to as a sorbent) to absorb and/or bind (adsorb) CO2 from the atmosphere, entering at 2001 By exposing the medium to a chemical, electrical and/or physical reaction with CO2 in the trapped air. The medium can be liquid, gaseous, or solid, or a combination of liquid, gaseous, and solid materials. In the case of solids, the material is preferably porous. It is preferable for the medium to be recyclable so that after the CO2 is captured by the medium and separated from the medium for sequestration, it is possible to reuse the medium to absorb/bind with additional CO2. As shown in Figure 1, the process of separating CO2 from the medium, sequestration of CO2 ions, and entering through 2002, which is carried out by the ion sequestration system 50, can be carried out more effectively by adding heat, through the line 2000, to the air extraction system 40. In the present invention The heat is the heat of the process generated, for example, by a solar power generator, such as a solar beam collector, which will be described in more detail later. In other embodiments, the process heat may be provided by other types of energy sources such as fossil fuels, geothermal, nuclear, biomass, and other renewable energy sources. The term “process heat” as used herein refers to the low-temperature heat that remains after the high-temperature heat is used to generate electricity.

In general, the term “process heat” refers to any low-temperature heat that remains after an initial process or that added by the process itself, such as exothermic carbonization reactions in which carbon dioxide is stored as a metal or in fact when it is bound to the medium and captured .

Furthermore, “process heat” can be provided from the use of energy sources to produce products other than power or electrical generation. For example, primary processing such as chemical processing, the production of cement, steel, or aluminum, the production of energy products such as coal to obtain liquid energy products, and refining, can use heat to manage the primary treatment process, and the unused heat that remains after primary treatment can be That generated during pretreatment is the process heat of said curing process, and may be used in the system or method of the present invention. One particularly preferred method of providing process heat is cogeneration, where a primary process (for example, generating electricity) provides a source of process heat (either directly in the form of steam, or in a form that can be used to heat a liquid body to produce steam The heat of the aforementioned process is used in the manner described in this document to remove CO2 from the substrate and regenerate the sorbent carried by the substrate.

The Applicants' preferred principle of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and using the heat of the process to separate the carbon dioxide from the collection medium is an important way of approaching the problem of global warming, which contradicts traditional ideas inherent in the field (and is counterintuitive to those skilled in the field). Specifically, using process heat to solve global warming by extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from low-concentration ambient air is a very attractive approach compared to the traditional method of extracting CO2 from high-concentration flue gas sources and other known industry schemes for extracting CO2 from Atmosphere surrounding. In the former case, it contradicts the conventional idea that a 300-fold decrease in CO2 concentration in the ambient atmosphere would represent a 300-fold increase in costs since separation costs are inversely related to concentration. Thus, more efforts have been made to extract CO2 from flue gas emissions in power units (e.g., clean coal) and experts have openly claimed that it makes no sense to use ambient air compared to flue gas. However, the large absolute size of the ambient air source compared to the finite flue gas source and sources is one feature that helps the applicants' method work despite conventional ideas and practices. In the case of flue gas, the CO2-containing emissions are at high temperatures (65 to 70°C) and thus the adsorbent regeneration process uses high-temperature heat which is more expensive than that required for cold ambient air (about 25 to 30°C ). Other advantages of the applicants' method include the ability to use very thin separators which also provide process improvements. Therefore, it would be less expensive to remove CO2 by piping the process heat to a general thermostat facility operating on the principles of the applicant's invention, rather than directly cleaning its stack emissions.

In addition, the applicants' method will be carbon negative, which will actually reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, while flue gas cleaning will prevent the CO2 content in the air from increasing.

Further analysis shows that one cannot solve the global warming problem in time to reduce the greater risk it poses by cleaning up large stationary fossil fuel sources such as industrial coal plants or by maintaining or using renewable sources.

One needs to be able, as in the case of this invention, to extract CO2 from the atmosphere reducing the ambient concentration (“negative carbon”) and reducing the risk of global warming.

Other emerging projects to extract CO2 from the ambient atmosphere have generally used a higher temperature and have not specifically used process heat and thus have not been taken into account in a new way due to their higher energy costs.

Figure 2 shows a box diagram of a system, generally referred to as reference 2, for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. System 2 includes a solar beam collector 10, an optional supplementary power supply 20, a power generator 30, an air extraction system 42, and a collection system 50. Each component of the system 1 is described in detail below.

The solar beam collector 10 is not a feature of this invention and is well known in the art. We find, for example, CSP parabolic mirrors and CSP towers. As known in the art, the solar collector 10 converts solar energy into thermal energy, which can be used to heat a process fluid to drive the power generator 30, via line 20031. Residual thermal energy (i.e., process heat) may be used to drive the air extraction system 42, via line 20032, and/or the collection system 50, via line 20033. For example, any process heat left behind after the initial application of solar heat may be used to improve the efficiency of Chemical and/or physical reactions used in the air extraction system 42 to absorb CO2 from the air and/or to remove CO2 from the medium.

The power generator 30 can be, for example, a thermal electric generator that converts thermal energy by the solar collector into electricity. In addition, the thermal energy supplied by the solar collector 10 can be supplemented by energy generated by the supplemental energy source 20. Furthermore, as mentioned above, “process heat” can be supplied from sources of energy to produce products other than power or electrical generation. For example, in a co-generation system, a primary treatment process, such as chemical processing, cement, steel, or aluminum production, refining, and the production of energy products such as coal and liquid energy products, can use heat to manage the primary treatment and can be the unused heat that The aftermath of pretreatment or that arises during pretreatment remains the process heat of said pretreatment and may be used in a system or method according to the principles of the present invention.

Figure 3 shows a box diagram of an air extraction system 42 usable with System 2 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The air extraction system 42 includes an air contactor 41, a causticizer 43, a slaker 45, a calciner 47, and a capture unit 49. The air contactor 41 can use an sorbent to selectively trap CO2 from the air, and can comprise an sorbent that actually absorbs/binds to CO2 from the air and which can be an amine function (i.e., captures CO2 and can be processed to collect CO2 and regenerate the material sorbent) at a relatively low temperature (for example, below about 120°C) or sodium hydroxide, which may operate at a considerably higher temperature. As known in the art, amine-rich solid sorbents can be used to adsorb/bind CO2. It is preferable to renew the sorbent material, as the detention method requires a temperature less than about 100-120 degrees Celsius to renew the sorbent material. Therefore, the preferred sorbent is amine.

The capture unit 49 can also compress the captured CO2 into a liquid form so that the sequestration CO2 ions can be easily sequestered.

Collection system 50, which receives CO2 via Line 2014, sequesters the removed CO2 to a site for at least one process of sequestration, storage, and generation of a renewable carbon fuel or generation of a non-fuel product such as fertilizer. And construction materials. Collection system 50 can utilize any known or future carbon storage and/or sequestration techniques such as injection into geological formations or sequestration of metal ions. In the case of injection, CO2 ions trapped in geological formations such as oil and gas reservoirs, unminable coal seams and deep brine reservoirs can be sequestered. In this regard, in many cases, CO2 injection into a geological formation can improve hydrocarbon recovery, providing value-added products that can offset the cost of CO2 capture and collection. For example, injecting CO2 into a tank pushes the oil or natural gas produced in a process known as enhanced oil recovery. Sequestration CO2 ions trapped underground, according to at least one embodiment of the invention, can be sequestered at a location remote from other components of the System 2 so that any leakage from the site can be recaptured again by System 2.

Among the many classes of solid CO2 adsorbents, portable amines have several desirable features, such as operation at low temperatures (ranging from ambient temperature to 120°C). In addition, they have strong interactions between CO2 and the sorbent (50 to 105 kJ/mol), thus acting as unique low-temperature chemical sorbents [4]. In contrast, most other low-temperature adsorbents such as zeolites, carbonates, and (some) MOFs rely on weak physical adsorption interactions, making water, one of the primary components of the flue gas, compete with CO2 for adsorbent sites in many cases. Indeed, there are more than 70 publications in the available literature that reveal the properties of portable amine adsorbents with respect to CO2 adsorption.

Supported amine CO2-loaded sorbents are regenerated most effectively in a temperature fluctuation process, where greater energy is necessary to break the amine-CO2 bonds. As mentioned above, this has already been achieved in reviewer reports by providing two actuation forces for the mag, (1) partial pressure actuation by passing a flow of CO2-free inert gas over the sample, and (2) introducing heat, usually in the form of a thermally heated reactor . The two most practical methods for sorbent regeneration are (1) heating the sorbent in a pure heated CO2 stream and (2) vapor extraction. In the first case, the only operating force for the mag is thermal, and the pressure of CO2 in the gas phase severely limits how CO2 can be magnified. It turns out that this method can also lead to significant inhibition of amine compounds through urea formation.

Drage, TC, et al., Thermal stability of polyethyleneimine based carbon dioxide adsorbents and its influence on selection of regeneration strategies. Microporous Mesoporous Mat., 2008. 116: p. 504-512.

However, this method may be useful because it generates a pure CO2 stream for sequestration of ions or other uses.

It has now become clear that the second method, vapor extraction, is more desirable in the context of capturing low-temperature CO2 from the atmosphere. Vapor extraction provides both (1) thermal operating power for the mug and (2) low-pressure operating power, as in the case of inert gas temperature fluctuation. More importantly, the produced stream, containing only CO2 and water, can be easily purified by pressure, removing the water in liquid form to produce a highly concentrated CO2 gas stream, suitable for ion sequestration or other use. Furthermore, low-cost, high-grade steam (saturated, at 105°C effectively low-value waste heat from most processes) can be sufficient to remove CO2 from the solid sorbent. It can be shown for the first time that steam extraction is a generally useful method for practical regeneration of many portable CO2-saturated amine adsorbents.

There are three categories of useful portable supported amines. The first class of adsorbents is based on porous carriers impregnated with monomeric or polymeric amine compounds (Figure X). Thus, amine species are, in physical terms, loaded onto or in the carrier material. Song has paved the way for this class of sorbents and has been described in technical references, for example, in:

Xu, XC, et al., Preparation and characterization of novel CO2 “molecular basket” absorbents based on polymer-modified mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41. Microporous Mesoporous Mat., 2003. 62(1-2): p. 29-45 and Xu, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2005. 44(21): p. 8113-8119 and Xu, XC, et al., Novel polyethylenimine-modified mesoporous molecular sieve of MCM-41 type as high-capacity adsorbent for CO2 capture. Energy Fuels, 2002. 16(6): p. 1463-1469

The second class of adsorbents is based on amine compounds covalently bonded to the solid carrier. This has often been achieved by linking amine compounds to oxides using silane chemistry or by preparing polymeric supports with amine side chains. The third category of adsorbents is based on porous carriers on which aminopolymers are polymerized in situ, starting from an amine-containing monomer. The Class III type has been described for use as adsorbents for CO2 capture by:

Hicks, J.C., et al., Designing adsorbents for CO2 capture from flue gas-hyperbranched aminosilicas capable, of capturing CO2 reversibly. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 2008. 130(10): p. 2902-2903.and by Drese, JH, et al., Synthesis-Structure-Property Relationships for Hyperbranched Aminosilica CO2 Adsorbents. Adv. Funct. Mater., 2009. 19(23): p. 3821-3832

Illustrations of each class of adsorbent mentioned have been prepared for CO2 capture and vapor regeneration studies.

The first class of adsorbents contained low molecular weight Polyethylene Imine (PEI) on a commercial microporous silica support material supplied by PQ Corporation. PEI loading was 35 wt%, as measured by thermal specific gravity analysis (TGA). The second category of adsorbents was obtained by grafting 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, in a toluene carrier, to another portion of the same silica support (PQ-Mono). The organic loading, as determined by the TGA, was 13% by weight. The third category of adsorbents was obtained through over-branching, in situ polymerization of aziridine on a mesocellular silica foam support medium, in a toluene carrier, which leads to the production of an organic loading of 19 %. See Figure 13 for diagrams of a porous substrate with an adsorbed amine carried in the pores of each substrate, respectively, 1, 2, and 3.

Useful porous silica materials are available on the market in discrete but thin structures from Corning, for example.

The three portable amine adsorbents were subjected to adsorbent and cyclic adsorption tests using CO2 diluted in nitrogen as the test gas. This was then followed by regeneration of the adsorbents through contact of the portable adsorbents with a flow of saturated steam at a temperature of 103 °C and a volume of 1.2 g/min. for 25 minutes in the jacketed reactor vessel. The mixture of CO2 and vapor produced was carried to a Horiba infrared CO2 detector through nitrogen cleaning.

Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of this experimental apparatus. Figure 15 shows a typical CO2 profile, in this case for the first class of adsorbents, PEI on a particulate porous silica substrate provided by PQ Corporation. The adsorbents were exposed to a feed stream containing CO2 and saturated with water until saturation with the adsorbent. After that, the jacket around the reactor was filled with a propylene glycol-water solution and water at 105 °C to reduce steam condensation on the walls. Then saturated steam (at about 103 °C) was introduced into the reactor from the autoclave to pass through the carried adsorbent. This is to extract CO2. The inflowing steam stream showed a very sharp increase in CO2 concentration, with the CO2 concentration in the inflowing stream decreasing and returning to zero within 10 minutes. As shown by the mug effect in Figure 15, the vast majority (66%) of the CO2 was removed in the first three minutes at the sample temperature of 104°C. These data demonstrate that low-temperature steam extraction is effective for regenerating portable amine adsorbents.

The data in Table 1, below, show that all three classes of adsorbents show some level of stability in cyclic adsorption/regeneration tests using steam-strip conditions. Surprisingly, the Class I adsorbent turns out to be stable under the extraction conditions used here. In another case, a high-temperature inert gas oscillating tumbler, stability was less than desired during multiple regeneration cycles using Class I adsorbents.

These materials might be expected to be the least stable of the three classes of adsorbents under vapor extraction conditions due to the lack of covalent bonds between the aminopolymer and the carrier and the measurable solubility of low molecular weight PEI in water. Assuming that some vapor will condense on the sorbent during heat transfer to the sample, it can be inferred that part of the PEI can be removed from the sample, as has been observed in some previous cases.

However, these data suggest that for at least the three cycles described here, Class I samples were largely constant.

Table 1: Stability of CO2 capacity for several materials adsorbing CO2 with mobile amine over several cycles using steam-stripping conditions to regenerate the adsorbent.

the sample

Amplitude cycle 1[A]

Amplitude cycle 2[A]

Amplitude cycle 3[A]

Category 1

100٪

103٪

98٪

Category 2

100٪

94٪

83٪

Category 3

100٪

115٪

103٪

[A] Amplitude rates were normalized to the initial amplitude found in the first experiment.

The Class III adsorbent also shows stability over three cycles at the conditions used. The rates of adsorb capacity in cycles 2 and 3, which were greater than the initial cycle, indicate polymer restructuring during the cycles. It turned out that the second-class adsorbent had lost some of its capacity over the course of the three cycles. At first glance, this is surprising, as one might think that these samples must be strong, due to the covalent Si-C bond that connects the amine compounds to the oxide framework. Despite this, this sample showed a high ability to recycle, and the slight decrease observed here should not be interpreted as indicating the overall stability of this class of materials. Overall, these data illustrate a simple but important point: for all classes of amine-mobile CO2 adsorbents, there is the potential to develop materials that will be stable during regeneration via steam stripping.

The following procedures can be followed to provide an amine sorbent supported on commercial particulate silica supplied by PQ Corporation (PQ-9023) or on a cellular foam medium. To prepare all adsorbents, the silica substrate is first dried at low pressure at 100 °C for 24 h to remove water adsorbed on the surface before use. Commercial particulate silica supplied by PQ Corporation (PQ-9023) and a laboratory-synthesized cellular foam medium were used as carrier materials. Commercial silica has a surface area of 303 m2/g, an average pore volume of 1.64 cm3/g and an average pore diameter of 60 nm. The medium cellular foam was prepared following the reference method:

Wystrach, V.P., D.W. Kaiser, and F.C. Schaefer, PREPARATION OF ETHYLENIMINE AND TRIETHYLENEMELAMINE. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 1955. 77(22): p. 5915-5918. Specifically, in a typical synthesis, 16 g of Pluronic P123 triblock copolymer EO-PO-EO (Sigma-Aldrich) was used as a template agent and dissolved in 260 g of DI water with 47.1 g of concentrated HCl. Then 16 g of trimethylbenzene (TMB, 97%, Aldrich) was added at 40 °C and stirred for 2 h before adding 34.6 g of tetraethyl orthosilicate (98%, Aldrich) to the solution. The solution was maintained at 40 °C for 20 h before adding 184 mg of NH4F (in 20 ml of water).

The mixture was then aged at 100 °C for another 24 hours. The resulting silica filtered was filtered, washed with water, dried in an oven, and then roasted at 550°C in air for 6 hours to remove the organic template before further use. Foam silica is characterized by a surface area of 615 m2/g, an average pore volume of 2.64 cm3/g and average window and cell diameters of 12 nm and 50 nm.

To prepare the Class 1 adsorbent, 1.8 g of low molecular weight oly(ethylenimine) (PEI, MN about 600, and Mw about 800, Aldrich) and 90 mL of methanol (98%, Aldrich) were first mixed in a 150 mL beaker for 1 h. .

Then, 3 g of amorphous particulate silica (PQ Corporation, PD-09023) was added and stirred for another 12 h. The methanol solvent was removed by a rotary evaporator, and the resulting portable adsorbent (“PQ-PEI”) was dried at low pressure at 75 °C overnight before testing.

To prepare the Class 2 adsorbent, 90 mL of anhydrous toluene (99.5%, Aldrich) and 3 g of particulate silica (PQ Corporation) were mixed in a 150 mL pressure vessel for 1 hour, then 3 g of 3 -aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS, Aldrich) to the mixture. The mixture was kept under vigorous stirring for 24 h at room temperature. The resulting portable adsorbent (PQ-Mono) was extracted by filtration, washed with toluene and acetone, and dried overnight, under low pressure, at 75 °C.

For the Class 3 adsorbent, a fine-grained mesocellular silica foam (MCF) reacted with aziridine (a highly reactive but toxic substance) in a manner similar to that reported in ref:

Hicks, J.C., et al., Designing adsorbents for CO2 capture from flue gas-hyperbranched aminosilicas capable, of capturing CO2 reversibly. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 2008. 130(10): p. 2902-2903

For the above synthesis, 3 g of MCF was dispersed in 90 ml of toluene in a 150 ml pressure vessel and the mixture was stirred for 1 hour before adding 6 g of aziridine (which was synthesized according to the following procedure:

Wystrach, V.P., D.W. Kaiser, and F.C. Schaefer, PREPARATION OF ETHYLENIMINE AND TRIETHYLENEMELAMINE. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 1955. 77(22): p. 5915-5918)

Immediately before use. After continuous stirring for 24 hours, the resulting portable adsorbent (MCF-HAS) was filtered, washed with toluene and ethanol, and dried overnight at low pressure at 75 °C.

CO2 was extracted by steam and adsorbed from the atmosphere over several cycles to test the durability of the different forms of adsorbent used. In each case, in the apparatus of Figure 14, a gas stream containing CO2 (a mixture of N2 and CO2) was passed over 2 g of sorbent carried at substantially ambient temperature; That is, about 20 °C, until saturation with the adsorbent is reached. The adsorbed material was subjected to a steam extraction process.

The test rig (Figure 14) was designed and constructed to evaluate sorbent regeneration by steam extraction over several cycles. The portable adsorbents were regenerated by contacting the portable adsorbents with saturated steam at 103 °C, flowing at 1.2 g/min for 25 minutes.

The flowing stream of the mixture of CO2 and steam was then carried to a Horiba infrared CO2 detector by a nitrogen purge stream [99], for quantitation.

It is worth noting that the nitrogen purge stream facilitates the determination of the amount of CO2 and is not necessary in a practical device, and therefore a true concentration of CO2 can be achieved by condensing the water in the gas stream, to obtain a concentrated CO2 stream as a product.

As for sequestration of metal ions, CO2 sequestration can be done through a carbonization reaction using calcium and magnesium silicates, which occur naturally as mineral precipitates. For example, as shown in reactions (1) and (2) below, CO2 can react with forsterite and serpentine, resulting in solid calcium and magnesium carbonates in an exothermic reaction.

(1) 1/2 Mg2SiO4 + CO2 = MgCO3 + 1/2 SiO2 + 95 kJ/mol

(2) 1/3 Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 + CO2 = MgCO3 + 2/3 SiO2 + 2/3 H2O + 64 kJ/mol

Both reactions are preferably performed at low temperatures, preferably using amine as the adsorbent. In this regard, the sequestration processes described herein may use electricity and/or thermal energy generated by the solar collector 10 (or other renewable energy source) to perform the necessary reactions and power appropriate components of the system. In an illustration of the present invention, the high-temperature carrier can be heated to a temperature in the range from about 400°C to about 500°C to generate steam to operate an electricity generator, and the low-pressure and low-temperature steam emerging from the electricity generating turbine can be used to begin CO2 extraction and regeneration of the material. Sorbent (for example, amine at low temperatures or NaOH at high temperatures). The temperature of the high heat and electricity generated and the temperature of the low process heat remaining after electricity production can be adjusted to achieve both electricity production and CO2 removal, which is optimal for the combined production process. Additionally, in illustrative embodiments, the low process heat generated by the trapping and sequestration steps may be used to cool the equipment used in these steps.

One or more systems for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere may be used as part of a global thermostat according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. By regulating the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and thus regulating the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide and other gas emissions, the system described could be used to change the average global temperature. According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of carbon dioxide capture and sequestration systems can be located at different locations on the Earth and the process by the plurality of systems can thus be used to alter the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and thereby alter the heating process of the greenhouse gas in Planet. Sites can be chosen so that the greatest impact is achieved in locations such as large industrial centers, densely populated cities, or natural sources of CO2, each of which can generate high CO2 concentrations that may enable cost-effective capture. For example, as shown in Figure 4, multiple systems1 can be deployed across the globe, and international cooperation, such as financing and international agreements, can be used to regulate the establishment and control of systems1. In this regard, the concentration of greenhouse gases can be changed to change the average temperature of the planet to avoid periods of cooling and heating, which can harm humans and ecosystems. During our planet's history, for example, there have been many periods of glaciation and rapid temperature fluctuations that have led to devastation and even severe extinction.

This future temperature fluctuation could be a direct cause of mass destruction and instability of human society due to conflict resulting from potential paucity of resources. The universal thermostat described herein could be the key that prevents such disasters in the coming decades.

Figure 5 shows a box diagram of a system, generally indicated by reference number 100, for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to another embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 includes a renewable energy source 110 (providing heat to the power generator, an air extraction system, and a collection system via lines 20161, 20163, and 20164, respectively), a complementary elective power source 120, which provides heat via line 20162 to the power generator 130, and Air extraction 142, sending carbon dioxide through line 2019 to collection system 150. The current model differs from the model in Figure 2 in that the source of renewable energy 110 can be any known or future energy source besides solar energy, for example, nuclear, geothermal, and biomass-derived sources. Preferably, the renewable energy source produces thermal energy, which can be used to generate electricity and improve the effectiveness of many of the chemical and/or physical reactions that occur within the air extraction system 142 and collection system 150. In this regard, the air extraction system 142 and collection system 150, via lines 20161, 20162, 20163, and 20164, respectively, sending process heat through line 2017, may be the same as those shown in the preceding embodiment, or may include components in accordance with any collection and extraction systems Other airspaces known or discovered in the future. Additionally, as shown in the global map of Figure 4, and in reference to the previous embodiment, a group of systems 100 can be strategically placed across the globe, and control of the systems 100 can be coordinated so that they collectively act as a global thermostat.

Figures 6 through 9 show several schematic illustrations of several methods by which carbon dioxide may be removed from the atmosphere, according to the principles of the present invention.

Specifically, in Figure 6, a pair of substrates 600 and 602 are illustrated, both of which have a medium (e.g., NAOH, amine or other suitable sorbent) that can come into contact with the atmosphere to remove carbon dioxide from it. Substrates 600 and 602 are disc-shaped (in that they occupy a relatively large area relative to their thickness) vertically oriented, and can be relatively large (in their surface area) and relatively thin (e.g., they can be about a few millimeters in size, preferably no thicker of metre). Each substrate may move (for example, by a pulley or hydraulic system, not shown) between an upper position where carbon dioxide-laden air comes into contact with the substrate-borne medium to remove carbon dioxide from the air, and a lower position where heat is directed The process at the substrate to remove carbon dioxide from the medium. Substrates 600 and 602 are porous and have large surface areas, such that air directed at the substrate can flow through the substrate. When the substrate is in the upper position (e.g., substrate position 600), the carbon dioxide-laden air is directed at the substrate (e.g., by a fan 604 shown with dashed lines), so that the air flows across the substrate, and the carbon dioxide comes into contact with the medium It is largely removed from the air. Thus, the CO2-laden air is directed at and through the substrate such that the CO2 comes into contact with the medium, the CO2 is largely removed from the air by the medium, and the air from which the CO2 has been removed is largely directed away from the substrate . As the substrate moves to the downward position (e.g., substrate position 602), the heat of the process is directed at the substrate (e.g., through a fluid channel 606) and the carbon dioxide is removed (taken out) by a fluid source directed at the substrate (in the direction shown (arrowed 608) and the absorption source 610 through which carbon dioxide is removed from the medium is pulled away from the substrate. The substrates 600 and 602 can move, alternatively, between the up and down positions, such that the substrate in the upper position removes carbon dioxide from the air and carbon dioxide is removed from the substrate in the lower position. It is worth noting that instead of a fan, the available moderate wind flows can be used to push air across the substrate in the event of strong winds. In addition, as will be shown below, a fan can be used instead of a solar-powered source (or by heat- or wind-driven air currents), in which case the efficiency and cost of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can be improved. Furthermore, instead of transferring between the two substrate positions, the means used to generate air flows, process heat flow, and CO2 flow away from the substrate can be operated when CO2 is captured from the air and then extracted from the medium, as will already be demonstrated to those skilled in the art.

Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of another version of the medium used to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and to remove carbon dioxide from, according to the principles of the present invention. Specifically, in Figure 7, a pair of substrates 700 and 702 are shown, each of which can be the same medium shown in Figure 6, above, for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The substrates 700 and 702 are oriented horizontally, and can be relatively large (in their surface area) and relatively thin (e.g., they can be about a few millimeters or centimeters in size, up to a meter). Each substrate may move horizontally (for example, by a pulley system (not shown)) between an air extraction position where the carbon dioxide-laden air comes into contact with the substrate-borne medium to remove carbon dioxide from the air, and a carbon extraction position where the heat of the process is directed At the substrate to remove carbon dioxide from the medium. Substrates 700 and 702 are porous, such that air directed at the substrate can flow through the substrate. When the substrate is in the air extraction position (e.g., substrate position 700), carbon dioxide-laden air is directed at the substrate (e.g., by a fan 704 shown with dashed lines), so that the air flows across the substrate and comes into contact with the carbon dioxide with the medium and is largely removed from the air. Thus, the carbon dioxide-laden air is directed at and through the substrate such that the carbon dioxide comes into contact with the medium, the carbon dioxide is largely removed from the air by the medium, and the air from which the carbon dioxide has been removed is directed Pretty much off the substrate. As the substrate moves to the carbon extraction position (e.g., substrate position 702), the heat of the process is directed at the substrate (e.g., through a fluid channel 706) and the carbon dioxide is removed (drawn) by a fluid source directed at the substrate (in the direction shown by arrow 708) and the absorption source 710 through which carbon dioxide is removed from the medium is pulled away from the substrate. Substrates 700 and 702 can move, alternatively, between the air extraction and carbon extraction positions, such that the substrate in the air extraction position removes carbon dioxide from the air and carbon dioxide is removed from the substrate in the carbon extraction position. It is worth noting that instead of a fan, the available moderate wind flows can be used to push air across the substrate in the event of strong winds. In addition, as will be shown below, a fan can be used instead of a solar-powered source (or by heat- or wind-driven air currents), in which case the efficiency and cost of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can be improved. Furthermore, instead of transferring between the two substrate positions, the means used to generate air flows, process heat flow, and CO2 flow away from the substrate can be operated when CO2 is captured from the air and then extracted from the medium, as will already be demonstrated to those skilled in the art.

The version of the invention shown in Figure 9 is generally the same as the horizontally oriented version of Figure 7, but in the version shown in Figure 9, instead of the fan being the source that moves the carbon-laden air across the substrate at the air extraction position (such as substrate 900), There is a gas flow source generated from the solar heating tower or chimney (schematically shown at 912 in Figure 9). A solar chimney can be produced by heating the air mass with the sun. The solar chimney may include a "tip" (shown by dashed lines 913 in Figure 9) that helps concentrate the solar heated air in the chimney. Thus, a solar field with a solar chimney can be accompanied by a system and structure that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removes carbon dioxide from the medium in the manner shown in Figure 7. However, instead of the fan 704 used as the primary driver of the CO2-laden air at the substrate, the CO2-laden air is heated by solar energy and the air is allowed to rise in the funnel or solar tower 912. Because of the tendency of the hot air to rise, an overhead draft is generated, carrying With it the air laden with carbon dioxide, and the 900 pillar will be placed in the upper intake path. Thus, the carbon dioxide-laden air will be directed through the substrate 900 at the air extraction position, and the carbon dioxide will be removed from the substrate 902 at the carbon extraction position in the same manner as shown in Figure 7. By extracting carbon dioxide from the air using solar energy, Extraction costs will be reduced, and the entire process will be renewable. Naturally, a supply would be needed for those periods when the sun does not shine, and an actuator similar to fan 704 (Figure 7) would be needed. But in any case, during periods when a solar-powered fan is used instead of a fan (or by wind, heat- or wind-driven air currents), the effectiveness of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can be improved and cost-effective.

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of yet another version of the atmospheric carbon dioxide removal medium and of the carbon dioxide removal medium, according to the principles of the present invention. In Figure 8, the medium from which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere is placed on a continuously moving substrate composed of, for example, granules loaded with sorbent 800. The substrate moves through the air extraction zone 814, through which air laden with carbon dioxide is directed at the substrate (which is also porous as in previous embodiments) so that carbon dioxide is removed from the air. The substrate 800 then moves to the carbon extraction zone 816, where the heat of the process is directed at the substrate and the carbon is drawn away from the substrate in the manner shown in Figures 6 and 7. The substrate 800 then moves to and through the heat exchange zone 818 where the substrate temperature is reduced (e.g., by air flowing through the substrate in the air extraction zone, and by any additional cooling device that can be useful in reducing the substrate temperature until A level that helps it effectively remove carbon dioxide from the air when the substrate moves back through the extraction zone 814. Additionally, the system of Figure 8 may include another carbon extraction zone 816, wherein the heat of the process is directed at the substrate and draws carbon away from the substrate in the manner described above in Figures 6 and 7.

It is also noteworthy that in all versions of the invention described above, carbon dioxide can be at least partially removed from the air under nonequilibrium conditions. In addition, it is noteworthy that the Applicants' preferred principle for extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere involves the use of a relatively thin, large surface area substrate with a medium (eg, amine) that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and using process heat To remove carbon dioxide from the medium.

The use of a substrate with a relatively large surface area and perpendicular to the airflow direction is advantageous, given the relatively low concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (compared to the relatively high concentration that would normally be found in, for example, flue gases).

A new system, components and method for removing carbon dioxide from carbon dioxide laden air according to the present invention.

Sorbent structure and general operation of the sorbent

Figure 12 shows a schematic diagram of a ceramic and cellular substrate structure of a type produced by Corning under the trade name Celcor, which may be used in a sorbent structure according to the principles of the present invention. The sorbent (such as an amine) is carried by (e.g., coated or attached to) the interior of one or more Celcor cellular ceramic substrates, providing a large surface area and a small pressure drop, as the CO2-laden air flows across the substrate. The sorbent structure may comprise, for example, a plurality of Celcor cellular ceramic substrates or a single disc-shaped substrate shown in Figure 6 (i.e., greater surface area than thickness), and the CO2-laden air is directed through the cells Sorbent structure. The absorbent structure is also expected to be formed by burying the absorbent material in the Celcor cellular ceramic framework to form a separate absorbent structure.

In addition, it is worth noting that while it is preferable to be an inorganic material and ceramic, it can also be an organic material.

The air loaded with CO2 passes through the sorbent structure, which is disc-shaped, and the sorbent structure is connected to CO2 until the absorbent structure reaches a specific saturation level, or the CO2 level at the outlet of the absorbent structure reaches a specific value that indicates the start of CO2 penetration (meaning CO2 penetration That the absorbing structure is sufficiently saturated with CO2 so that the absorbing structure does not trap a significant amount of additional CO2). Systems for measuring CO2 concentration are well known.

When it is desired to remove and collect CO2 from the sorbent structure (and regenerate the absorbent structure), in a manner described below in connection with Figures 10a to 10h, the absorbent structure is removed from the carbon dioxide air stream and isolated from the air stream. And from other sources of air entry. The vapor then passes through the absorbent structure. The vapor will initially begin to condense and transfer its latent heat of condensation to the absorbing structure. Eventually the absorbent structure will reach saturation temperature and the vapor will pass through the absorbent structure without condensing.

When the product of condensation and then steam passes through the absorbent structure and is heated, the CO2 that was trapped by the absorbing structure will be released from the absorbing structure to produce more condensed water in order to provide the reaction heat required to release the CO2 from the absorbing structure and push it out of the absorbing structure by steam or extract it by a fan/pump.

Thus, the steam then passes through the absorbent structure and liberates CO2 from the sorbent. For reasons of energy cost efficiency, one will want to minimize the amount of steam used and the amount mixed with CO2.

Therefore, whatever condenses once it leaves the regeneration chamber, the condensate will be added to that generated in the regeneration chamber, recycled as heat and converted back into steam for use. This technique is referred to as “steam extraction” and is also explained below.

The principle of the vertical elevator is given in Figures 10a, 10f, and 10h

Figures 10a and 10b show schematic figures of the structure and principles of the method developing the principles by which carbon dioxide is removed from CO2-laden air, according to the principles of the present invention. Figures 10c to 10h. Figures 10a and 10b differ in that in Figure 10a the absorption time is considerably greater than the regeneration time, but in Figure 10b the absorption time is almost equal to the regeneration time. Specifically, in Figure 10a, a rectangular carbon dioxide 1000 capture structure is shown, which has a sorbent structure, as described herein, and can come into contact with CO2-laden air. The rectangular CO2 capture medium is identical to the disc-shaped substrates shown in Figure 6, above. The enhanced carbon dioxide capture structure 1000 includes an upper member 1002 preferably a solid metal plate, and a sorbent structure 1004 that hangs from the upper member 1002, and is held in place by vertical bars (for support) at another position, such that the absorbent medium is exposed on the housing Atmosphere on the remaining four (4) sides. The supporting material is preferably made of stainless steel. When placed on a stream of CO2-laden air, the absorbent structure 1004 is exposed to the stream of CO2-laden air on large surfaces through which the air is directed by a fan or prevailing wind 2049 and carries a sorbent that binds to the carbon dioxide flowing through The absorbent structure, to trap carbon dioxide from the flow of carbon dioxide laden air directed through the absorbent structure. The absorbent structure 1004 provides a large surface area and pressure drop, when CO2 laden air flows through the absorbent structure 1004.

The carbon dioxide 1000 capture structure is supported for vertical movement by an elevator structure, shown in Figures 10a and 10b, the details of which will be given in Figures 10c to 10f and 10h. As shown in Figure 10a, a hydraulic cylinder 1006 is connected via a piston and piston and rods 2034 and 2059 to a top plate 1002 and the piston is movable in the structural frame 1008 that protects the hydraulic cylinder from the surrounding environment. The hydraulic cylinder 1006 can selectively move the carbon dioxide capture structure 1000 between a carbon dioxide capture position aligned with carbon dioxide laden airflow 2024 and 2049, and a regeneration position shown below. At the CO2 capture site, a flow of CO2-laden air (called the “fresh air intake” in Figure 10a) is drawn through the CO2 capture structure 1000 (e.g., by induced draft created by the motor-driven fan 1010 1012). The carbon dioxide laden air flows through the sorbent supporting substrate 1004 where the sorbent binds to the carbon dioxide, to remove the carbon dioxide from the air, such that the air exiting the carbon dioxide capture structure 1000 is substantially depleted of carbon dioxide (preferably It is depleted of carbon dioxide by about 95%).

The carbon dioxide capture structure 1000 can be selectively moved to a regeneration position (by hydraulic cylinder 1006 or by a pulley system performing the corresponding function), where the carbon dioxide is separated from the sorbent structure 1004, to aid in carbon dioxide collection and sequestration. Its ions sequestration, and to help replenish the sorbent structure, so that the absorbent structure then moves to a position in line with the flow of air laden with carbon dioxide, to remove additional carbon dioxide from Air.

A regeneration box 1014 is positioned below the carbon dioxide capture structure 1000. The regeneration box 1014 is preferably made of solid sheet metal on 5 sides, and is open on the upper side, so that when the carbon dioxide capture structure 1000 is lowered into the box 1014, it will close Top plate 1002 The top side of the regeneration box 1014, creating a mechanical air seal with the top of the CO2 regeneration box.

The regeneration box 1014 is well insulated for heat preservation purposes and can be selectively heated by a flow of process heat (preferably from a co-production system and process, as described herein). As the regeneration box 1014 is heated (preferably by the steam extraction process described herein), the carbon dioxide is separated from the sorbent structure, and drawn out so that the carbon dioxide ions can be sequestrated. When the carbon dioxide is separated from the absorbing structure, and withdrawn from the regeneration box 1014, the absorbing structure is regenerated, so that the carbon dioxide capture structure 1000 can move to a position that is in line with the flow of carbon dioxide laden air, to remove carbon dioxide from the laden air. With carbon dioxide.

Figure 10b shows an alternative schematic of the structure and technology of Figure 10a, wherein a pair of carbon dioxide structures 1000 are provided, each configured according to the carbon dioxide capture structure of Figure 10a, each moved by a hydraulic cylinder 1002 between a trapping position carbon wherein the carbon capture structure is aligned with the flow of carbon-laden air, and a regeneration position wherein the carbon dioxide capture structure is lowered into a regeneration box 1014 which is configured in a manner similar to the regeneration box 1014 of Figure 10a It also works similarly. The only fundamental difference between the carbon capture structure and the technology in Figures 10a and 10b is that in Figure 10b the carbon dioxide capture structure can be permanently aligned with the flow of carbon dioxide-laden air while the other carbon dioxide capture structure is regenerative in the manner described above In Figure 10a. Thus, in Figure 10b (and in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 6), when the first CO2 capture structure 1000 is in an upper position (e.g., the upper position shown in Figure 10b), the CO2-laden air is directed through the absorbing structure sorbent structure, thus the absorbent structure is associated with the carbon dioxide present in the carbon dioxide laden air. When the first CO2 capture structure 1000 moves to the down position and into the regeneration box 1014, the heat of the process is directed to the substrate, and the CO2 is removed (drawn) from the absorbent carrier structure (again, preferably through a " Steam Extraction” described herein).

The pair of carbon dioxide structures 1000 can move alternatively between the upper and lower positions, such that the carbon dioxide capture structure in the upper position removes carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide-laden air and the carbon dioxide is removed from the absorbing structure in the position Lower.

While Figures 10a and 10b each show a single sorbent structure to remove CO2 from CO2-laden air and to regenerate the CO2 sorbent structure (this sorbent structure is often referred to as a unit), in application a global thermostat system can include a number of Modules, each of which will be configured in accordance with and will function similarly to the structures and techniques described above, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, Figure 10h shows and describes the elevator structure in more detail, and as shown in Figures 10c, 10d, 10e, and 10f, the elevator structure may include, for example, a pair of hydraulic cylinders positioned so as not to interfere with the flow of second-loaded air. carbon dioxide through the absorbent structure. Furthermore, the following additional features of the structures and techniques presented in Figures 10a and 10b are worth noting.

A - piping, valves, etc. for a low-level process heat source/vertical supply pipe 2029 (typically, low-pressure steam), which will be a stack of horizontal pipes placed under the horizontal row of Global Thermostat (GT) units, parallel to the ' The dimension W" 2044 shown in Figures 10a and 10b.

If the number of GT units is also increased vertically, by creating a structure with additional platform levels at appropriate heights, there will also be a vertical tube or stack of vertical tubes, positioned at the end of the horizontal row of identical GT units, adjacent to the structure containing the platform levels Extras at appropriate heights.

b- piping, valves, etc. for the 2027 low-level process heat return vertical pipe (typically, low-pressure steam condensate), which will be a horizontal pipe stack placed under the horizontal row of Global Thermostat (GT) units, parallel For the “dimension W” shown in Figures 10a and 10b. If the number of GT units is also increased vertically, by creating a structure with additional platform levels at appropriate heights, there will also be a vertical tube or stack of vertical tubes, positioned at the end of the horizontal row of identical GT units, adjacent to the structure containing the platform levels Extras at appropriate heights.

C- Piping, valves, etc. for the optional Cooling Water Supply (CWS) 2030 vertical pipe which will be a horizontal pipe stack placed under the horizontal row of Global Thermostat (GT) units, parallel to the “W Dimension” shown in Figures 10a and 10b And exhibits A and B. If the number of Global Thermostat (GT) units is also increased vertically, by creating a structure with additional platform levels at the appropriate heights, there will also be a vertical pipe or stack of vertical tubes, positioned at the end of the horizontal row of identical GT units, adjacent to the structure containing Additional platform levels at appropriate heights.

D- Piping, valves, etc. for the optional Cooling Water Return (CWR) 2028 vertical pipe which will be a horizontal pipe stack placed under the horizontal row of Global Thermostat (GT) units, parallel to the “W Dimension” shown in Figures 10a and 10b And exhibits A and B.

If the number of GT units is also increased vertically, by creating a structure with additional platform levels at appropriate heights, there will also be a vertical tube or stack of vertical tubes, positioned at the end of the horizontal row of identical GT units, adjacent to the structure containing the platform levels Extras at appropriate heights.

E- Piping, valves, etc. for the vertical pipe to store the CO2 product (greater than 95% in mole) to CO2 2026, which will be a horizontal pipe stack placed under the horizontal row of Global Thermostat (GT) units, parallel to the “W Dimension” shown in Figures 10a and 10b. If the number of GT units is also increased vertically, by creating a structure with additional platform levels at appropriate heights, there will also be a vertical tube or stack of vertical tubes, positioned at the end of the horizontal row of identical GT units, adjacent to the structure containing the platform levels Extras at appropriate heights.

f- CO2 receiving/storage vessel 2026, and any and all equipment required to connect or link to the high pressure CO2 disposal pipeline.

g - Supply and return connections (piping, valves, etc.) 2029 for the low-level process heat source at the existing industrial facility (utility power plant, chemical unit, refinery, etc.) will normally be a low-level steam supply Compression/recondensation of low pressure steam 2027.

h - Supply and return connections (piping, valves, etc.) to the low-level cooling source at the existing industrial facility (utility power plant, chemical unit, refinery etc.) will normally be a general cooling water supply Or normal cooling water supply (CWS) / cooling water return (CWR) 2028/2030.

i- All electrical equipment, facilities (such as substations, wires, etc.), all utility connections (such as metering air, potable water, etc.), all safety and lockout systems, etc. This equipment may include a control headquarters with a typical computer control system/computer data logger.

j - All block valves shown in Figures 10a and 10b will be specified as either “minimum leakage” or TSO (tight shut-off) block valves, whichever is more or less appropriate.

K - All block valves shown in Figures 10a and 10b will be fully automated block valves (either motorized, hydraulically or pneumatically operated). All block valves will be engaged together by a computer controlled timer/sequence adjusting device system.

The hydraulic fluid pump(s) and recirculation/CO2 gas blower(s) will be connected to, and engaged by, a computer-controlled timer/sequence adjusting device.

l - While the preferred sorbent structure described herein comprises a sorbent material (i.e., amine) that is carried by (e.g., coated or attached to) the interior of a Celcor cellular substrate, the sorbent structure is also expected to consist of By burying the sorbent in the Celcor ceramic structure to form a separate absorbent structure.

It will be recognized that it may be important to remove oxygen from the environment around the heated sorbent structure, before and after regeneration of the sorbent structure, to avoid contamination of the sorbent structure with oxygen (which may result from contamination of the sorbent structure by oxidizing the sorbent structure). . The method by which oxygen is removed will be described in relation to the technique referred to as “purge gas steam extraction”.

Steam stripping

There are two expected methods for the steam extraction process. One of the two techniques is referred to as “steam-only steam extraction.” The other technique is referred to as “purge gas steam extraction.” Both techniques use system components and process steps shown schematically in Figure 10g.

The technique referred to as “steam-only steam extraction” works in the following way:

A- The air passes through the channels in the sorbent structure and CO2 is removed from the air by the absorbent structure until the absorbent structure reaches a specific saturation level, or the CO2 level at the outlet of the absorbent structure reaches a specific value indicating the start of CO2 penetration or for a specific period of time by the test.

B - The absorbent structure is removed from the air stream and isolated from air flow and from air ingress and CO2 transfer to outside air, when placed in its CO2 removal position 2105.

C. Low-pressure steam 2100 passes through the channels in the absorbing structure 2105. The steam will initially begin to condense and transfer its latent heat of condensation to the absorbing structure at the front thereof. The heat of condensation raises the temperature of the absorber structure and provides energy to operate the CO2 extraction process from the absorber structure. Eventually, the front of the sorbent structure will reach saturation temperature and the released CO2 will be pushed out by steam or extracted with a fan. This process will go deeper into the absorbent structure from its front where the steam enters until the CO2 is released (note that the portion released will depend on the absorbent structure and the temperature of the steam used).

A small amount of steam will be supplied to the mg of CO2 from the absorbing structure in order to reduce the steam used and reduce the amount of steam mixed with the CO2 released). As the condensate and then the steam pass through the sorbent structure and heat the sorbent material, CO2 will be released from the absorbent structure and move to the steam and condensate. The condensate will have a limited ability to "hold" CO2 and once saturated, the "sour" water will no longer hold any more CO2 and the CO2 will remain in the vapor phase where it will be pushed out by the steam or extracted by the fan. Once the vapor passes through the absorbent structure, it will condense to release CO2. This is achieved in the condensing device 2106 which uses cold water 2108 to remove heat. The combined stream will have some vapor mixed in that will be reduced to the extent possible, and it will be necessary to condense this vapor to separate it from the CO2. Alternatively, the steam can be condensed, using heat loss to the atmosphere, in an uninsulated or finned tube. This represents heat loss to the system although an alternative method is to use the air emerging from the sorbent structure in the adsorb step (step 1 above) to condense the vapor. This will raise the air temperature at the outlet of the absorbent structure and provide additional actuation force to move the air through the absorber structure and reduce power requirements.

D- Once the CO2 is removed from the absorbing structure, the absorbing structure rises back into the air stream. The air will cool the sorbent structure and remove any remaining moisture. The absorber structure will then remove CO2 until the specified penetration occurs (see step 1) and the absorber structure will then be lowered into the regeneration position and the process repeated.

E- The condensation resulting from the aeration process (removing CO2 from the absorbing structure) contains CO2 at saturation levels. Said condensate 2109 will approach saturation temperature (at which only sufficient steam will be added to the system to remove CO2) and will be recycled to a boiler in which low-pressure steam from a facility (petrochemical plant or utility power plant) will be used to regenerate the used steam 2098 To heat the absorbent structure. Reuse of saturated steam with CO2 eliminates the need to treat large quantities of acidic water.

The technique referred to as “steam extraction using a purge gas” works in the following way:

A- The air passes through the channels in the absorbing structure and CO2 is removed from the air by the absorbing structure until the absorbing structure reaches a specific saturation level, or the CO2 level at the outlet of the absorbing structure reaches a specific value indicating the start of CO2 penetration or for a period of time specified by testing.

B- The absorbent structure is removed from the air stream and isolated from air flow, air ingress, and CO2 transfer to the outside air.

C- To remove oxygen from the channels in the sorbent structure, a purge stream of inert gas is passed through the sorbent structure for a short period of time.

D- Low-pressure steam is passed through the channels in the absorbent structure. The steam will initially begin to condense and transfer its latent heat of condensation to the absorbing structure at the front of it. The heat of condensation raises the temperature of the absorber structure and provides energy to operate the CO2 extraction process from the absorber structure. Eventually, the front of the absorber structure will reach saturation temperature and the liberated CO2 will be pushed out by steam or extracted with a fan. This process will go deeper into the absorbent structure from its front where the steam enters until the CO2 is released (note that the portion released will depend on the absorbent structure and the temperature of the steam used). A small amount of steam will be supplied to the mg of CO2 from the sorbent structure to reduce the steam used and reduce the amount of steam mixed with the CO2 released. As the condensate and then the steam pass through the absorbent structure and heat the sorbent, CO2 will be released from the absorbent structure and move to the steam and condensate. The condensate will have a limited ability to "hold" CO2 and once saturated, the "sour" water will no longer hold any more CO2 and the CO2 will remain in the vapor phase where it will be pushed out by the steam or extracted by the fan. Once the vapor passes through the absorbent structure, it will condense to release CO2. This is achieved in the condensing device 2106 which uses cold water to remove heat. The combined stream will have some vapor mixed in that will be reduced to the extent possible, and it will be necessary to condense this vapor to separate it from the CO2. Alternatively, the steam can be condensed, using heat loss to the atmosphere, in an uninsulated or finned tube. This represents heat loss to the system although an alternative method is to use the air emerging from the absorbent structure in the adsorb step (step 1 above) to condense the vapor.

This will raise the air temperature at the outlet of the absorbent structure and provide additional actuation force to move the air through the absorber structure and reduce power requirements.

E- To cool the sorbent structure before replacing it in the air stream, an inert gas is passed through the absorbent structure until it cools and reaches a certain temperature so that it does not damage the absorbent structure when it is placed again in the air stream.

F- Once the CO2 is removed from the absorbing structure, the absorbing structure rises back into the air stream. The air will continue to cool the absorbent structure and will remove any remaining moisture.

The absorber structure will then remove CO2 until the specified penetration occurs (see step 1) and the absorber structure will then be lowered to the regeneration position and the process repeated.

G- The condensation resulting from the sorbent process (removing CO2 from the sorbent structure) contains CO2 at saturation levels. This condensate will approach saturation temperature (since only enough steam will be added to the system to remove CO2) and will be recycled to a 2100 boiler in which low-pressure steam from a utility (petrochemical plant or utility power plant) is used to regenerate the steam used to heat Absorbent structure. Reuse of saturated steam with CO2 eliminates the need to treat large quantities of acidic water.

It is worth noting that in each of the steam extraction techniques described above, there are two closed steam rings connected to a heat exchanger. One of the steam rings provides the process heat and returns to the boiler the hot condensate resulting from heating the ring in which the steam extraction takes place. The other steam ring is a steam ring that performs steam extraction and regeneration of the absorbent structure.

The steam extraction process, as described above, may be performed in the above manner while the absorbent body is placed in the regeneration box 1014 shown and described in Figures 10a and 10b. Once the CO2 is removed, the sorbent structure will rise from the regeneration box 1014 and return to the carbon dioxide air stream, as also known and described in Figures 10a and 10b. The CO2-laden air stream will cool the absorbent structure and remove any remaining moisture. The absorber structure will then remove CO2 until the specified penetration occurs and the absorber structure is then lowered into the regeneration position within the regeneration box 1014.

Disclosure of other embodiments of the present invention:

The present invention further relates to systems, components and methods capable of capturing carbon dioxide from ambient air alone or from a mixture consisting of ambient air and a relatively small percentage of flue gases. The term “ambient air,” as used in this standard, means and includes air not contained within the conditions and concentrations of substances present in the atmosphere at a given location.

An improvement of the present invention provides a system and method for removing carbon dioxide from the surrounding atmosphere by directing CO2-laden ambient air through a porous sorbent structure that selectively and removably binds (sequesters) the CO2, preferably under ambient conditions. Removing (extracting) CO2 from the absorbing structure (which leads to effective regeneration of the absorbing structure) using process heat, preferably in the form of low-temperature steam, and at a temperature preferably not exceeding 120°C, to heat the absorbing structure and extract CO2, and it is most preferable to do so using steam in the form of a heat carrier. The absorbent structure is preferably a solid, porous substrate whose surfaces retain amine-binding sites for CO2.

According to the present invention, air, alone or in a mixture with an air/flue gas “mixture” is drawn in and brought into contact with a sorbent, preferably the sorbent moving alternatively between the carbon dioxide capture and regeneration positions. Following the CO2 capture step, the sorbent is moved to the regeneration position by “extraction”, where the steam co-produced by the process heat is used to “extract” the CO2 from the sorbent, after which the capture and regeneration cycles are repeated.

The unexpected advantage of CO2 capture at ambient temperatures is possible through the unexpected effectiveness of CO2 steam extraction from the sorbent structure using process heat, specifically using steam at atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the reason why low temperature steam can be used is because of the steam mechanism.

As the front of the vapor advances into and through the absorbent structure, it gradually heats the structure as the vapor condenses. Behind the front of the steam there is a lower partial pressure of CO2 due to the presence of steam which will help extract more CO2. Thus, the steam acts behind the steam front as a sweep or purge gas. This means that CO2 is pushed in front of the steam by heat, and behind it by low-pressure dilution.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the sorbent structure for CO2 capture preferably includes a separate column with (largely) porous walls containing amine binding sites that selectively bind to CO2.

In another embodiment, the separated column comprises (substrate) porous walls and upon their surfaces, or in the pores, a substance containing an amine group that selectively binds to CO2 is deposited.

In another embodiment, a coating layer of a highly porous substrate composed of a material selectively bearing a substance containing an amine group is deposited on the surfaces of the separated, highly porous structure.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the material containing the amine group is carried by the substrate, in the form of relatively small solid particles, and embedded in a fixed and mobile layer.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the substrate itself consists of a polymerized amine-containing structure. Most preferably under conditions in most countries, the supported amine is a polymer with only primary amine groups, i.e. a nitrogen atom attached to two hydrogen atoms.

However, when ambient conditions are at a very low temperature, for example below 0°C, as is the case in most parts of Alaska, northern Scandinavia or Asia, low-bonded double and triple amine groups are thought to be effective, as they work with gas High concentration chimney.

The present invention is designed to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere under ambient conditions. Ambient conditions include largely atmospheric pressure and temperatures in the range from about (negative) 20°C to about 35°C. It will be realized that the surrounding air does not have a constant CO2 concentration.

It is preferable to extract the captured CO2 from the sorbent using the heat of the process in the form of saturated steam, which regenerates the sorbent. It is preferable for the saturated steam to be at a pressure approaching or largely at atmospheric pressure and a temperature approaching 100°C, i.e. up to about 130°C, with the preferred range being that of 105 to 120°C. It is also worth noting that the temperature of the released steam must be superheated at the pressure at which it is fed to the existing process, i.e. at a temperature higher than the equilibrium temperature at the pressure of the sorbent structure, in the regeneration chamber. After the CO2 is extracted from the sorbent, it can actually be separated from the steam through steam condensation and CO2 removal. The condensed hot air and any steam are recycled to the process steam generator to provide sensible thermal energy. The CO2 lacking air is discharged back into the outside (ambient) air.

Furthermore, in another aspect, the invention is preferably implemented immediately adjacent to an industrial site using carbon fuels, burning a carbon-containing fuel to supply heat and power to the site, and wherein a small percentage is mixed, preferably not more than about 5% by volume, and most preferably It ranges from about 1 to 3% by volume, of the gas released from burning fuel, with air before directing it to the surfaces of the sorbent material.

In yet another embodiment, up to about 25% by volume of flow gas may be added to the air. As before, it is important to limit mixing to a CO2 concentration at which the CO2 capture rate is not high enough so that the heat released during the adsorbent process raises the temperature of the separate column loaded with the sorbent to the point where CO2 capture effectiveness is reduced . It is worth noting that the term “flue gas” includes real flue gas, i.e. from the combustion of hydrocarbons, such as fossil fuels. However, the effluent gas can be any stream from a hydrocarbon fuel generation process, such as an IGCC coal gasification process, any exhaust from a power generation system based on hydrocarbon combustion or any process that operates at an elevated temperature and is created by the oxidation of the hydrocarbon. a hydrocarbon.

The fraction of CO2 retained depends on temperature in a way that is determined by the Langmuir isotherm line, which for the available primary amine is an exponential with temperature due to its high heat of reaction, i.e. about 84 kJ/mol. An increase in temperature from 25 °C to 35 °C reduces the percentage of amine sites that can trap CO2 in equilibrium by about 10-1. Of course, in cold weather conditions, this will be a less serious obstacle. For example, if the ambient temperature is 15°C, a height of 10°C can produce the same performance as 25°C. The Langmuir isotherm for the primary amine approaches the optimum value at about 15 °C in terms of the fraction of amine sites in equilibrium and the sensible heat required to accumulate CO2 and effectively regenerate the sorbent at about 100 °C. A representative design, in which the flowing gas was mixed with air via a carburetor-type device, and the temperature rise was analysed, is shown in Figure 27.

By combining with a flow-through CCS process, many of the problems associated with direct mixing of flow-gas are avoided or at least reduced, particularly at ratios greater than 5%. Problems associated with direct injection of flow gas include high temperature of the flow gas, which creates several problems: The amount of flow gas to be added to the air is relatively small (no more than 25% by weight). Both the air stream and the flowing gas stream are at low pressure and therefore there is no energy in these streams that can be used for mixing without increasing the pressure drop. The airflow temperature (depending on unit location) can vary between -30°F and +110°F. High temperature affects the volumetric flow and power required for the fan. Low air temperature can affect the process as the flow gas contains a large amount of water and has a dew point between 120°F and 145°F, depending on the type of fuel, excess air rates, moisture content of the combustion air, impurities, etc. Therefore, if the flowing gas is not mixed well with the air or the flowing gas channels come into contact with the cold ambient air, condensation can occur. The condensation product of the flowing gas is corrosive and its presence can damage piping, ducts or equipment unless suitable construction materials are used.

In addition, the flowing gas contains solid particles (even past filters or bag housings) which can clog small passages intended for the substrate over time. Thus, caution must be taken to know the possibility of this blockage occurring due to particulate matter during normal operations. Finally, other contaminants such as sulfur oxides in the flue gas can inhibit the sorbent as well as corrode the equipment.

Most of these problems are avoided when using the system of the present invention including the use of a carburetor as described herein, by including such system in a flue gas scrubbing process, such as the well-known CCS process, such that the flue gas from the CCS process conducted is used for gas In the system and process of the present invention. Combining this process with the CCS process optimizes overall costs. As is well known, the increasing cost per ton of CO2 removal increases as the percentage of CO2 removed increases, and becomes more expensive as the removal rate increases from 90% to 95%. As the percentage captured decreases below a certain level, it becomes more expensive, because the impact of not capturing CO2 increases in situations where CO2 emissions are regulated and/or the source remains a significant CO2 emitter, reducing the value of the process as a whole.

For these reasons, the target percentage of gas effluent from the CCS process is 90% removal. On the other hand, the costs of the present invention are reduced when the percentage of CO2 in the process stream is increased by the addition of the effluent gas to the air, as long as the CO2 concentration remains lower than when the temperature rise resulting from exothermic confinement reduces the effectiveness of the sorbent .

When combined with the CCS process, the carburetor system is used to mix air with the CCS process flow, rather than directly with the flue gas itself. There is an optimum point for the CCS phase of cost per ton of CO2. For example, if the CCS process removes only 80% of the CO2 from the flue gas, and passes the effluent from the CCS stage to the existing air capture step, the remaining CO2 will be mixed (if 10% of the CO2 in the flue gas is removed, at 80% removal %, 2% will be produced in the current flowing from the CCS stage).

In that case, if 2% of the CO2 stream is mixed in the air inlet to the present invention, for every 1% of the inlet stream mixed with air, the inlet CO2 concentration in the system of the present invention will be increased by about 25%. Temperature rises can be determined for this model, with the temperature rise depending on the CO2 absorption rate and thus the incident concentration of CO2 in the mixed process stream initially in contact with the sorbent.

As another example, if 5% of the flow is mixed, costs will be reduced by a factor of 3; The concentration will be 3 times higher in the air-mixed stream alone, by a separate air capture process. The temperature rise in this case is close to the case of 1% methane mixing of the carburetor flow gas stream version, or about 3.5 °C. Most importantly, even if air capture removes only 70% of the CO2 in the mixed stream, the combined processes (i.e. CCS and the current process) will remove well over 100% of the CO2 emitted by the power unit. The result will be carbon dioxide-free energy production, or other processes that use fossil fuels as an energy source. The combined cost will be less than trying to do it in one stage, by optimizing the fractions of CO2 removed at each stage.

Besides achieving the direct benefits of reducing the cost per ton of combined CO2, by optimizing the cost of both the CCS process and the CO2 process of the present invention, there are also other benefits from process integration. These benefits include that the exhaust stream from flue gas pretreatment is clean of particulate matter and other impurities, eliminating the problem/cost of cleaning the flue gas prior to implementing the present invention, improving efficiency and reducing energy costs. There are many different pre-combustion and after-combustion CO2 removal processes being followed and new processes may emerge in the future. Details of the amount mixed and the possible further treatment of the exhaust from the first flue gas treatment stage will vary but the basic principle will remain constant: cleaning and partial removal of CO2 from the flue gas, or generally “stream” and then completing the removal of CO2 in the process of the present invention mixed with a greater amount of Air.

Additional Figures: A - Figure 16, herein, is a general box diagram of a system capable of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere according to the present invention;

(b) Figures 17a and 17b are general flowcharts illustrating the sequential steps in a preferred system according to the present invention for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to extract process heat from the carbon burning source, obtaining a relatively low-cost pure stream of CO2;

(c) Figures 18a and 18b are general flowcharts illustrating the successive steps in a preferred system according to the present invention for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to draw the process heat from a non-carbon burning energy source and obtain a relatively low cost pure stream of CO2;

(d) Figure 19 is a general flowchart illustrating the successive steps in an alternative preferred system according to the present invention for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and obtaining a relatively low-cost pure stream of CO2;

e- Figure 20 are more specific flowcharts illustrating the sequential steps in a preferred system according to the present invention for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and obtaining a relatively low-cost pure stream of CO2;

(f) Figures 21a and 21b are diagrams illustrating the preferred ogee-shaped configuration of several separate column units of the present invention for capturing 1 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere;

(g) Figure 22 is a schematic diagram of a preferred version of a multiple-fan configuration to provide airflow through the CO2 capture unit configuration when there is no wind;

H- Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of a preferred elevator system for moving the primary station and the CO2 extraction station; And

I- Figures 24a to 24c are schematic diagrams showing the structure of the elevator to move the absorbent structure between the two stations.

J- Figures 25, 26a and 26b are schematic diagrams showing an alternative means of injecting a small percentage of hot flow gases into the air entering the CO2 capture stage.

K- Figure 27 is the change in energy use and temperature of the adsorbent with the change in the initial CO2 content in the inlet gas.

l- Figure 28 is an embodiment flowchart of a two-stage CO2 removal process according to the present invention.

Referring to the general box diagram of the process of the present invention shown in Figure 16, we find that stage 1 enables the movement of a flowing mass of surrounding air with a relatively low concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, with a relatively small drop in pressure (in the range of 100 to 1000 Pa). . The flow of air containing CO2 from stage 1 to stage 2 passes through a large surface area layer or layers of CO2 sorbent material. The layer is highly porous and on the walls that define the pores there is a highly active CO2 adsorbent, that is, when adsorption leads to adsorb to a relatively high heat of reaction. A highly active CO2 sorbent is preferably a material containing a primary amine group, which may include some secondary amine groups. Primary amine groups are, in general, most reactive at typical ambient temperatures in the range of about 10 to 25 °C. By using all primary amine groups, particularly in the form of polymers, loading can be maximized. The relatively low concentration of CO2 in the air (compared to flowing gases), requires a strong absorbent. Primary amines have a heat of reaction of 84 kJ/mol CO2 indicating strong bonds, while secondary amines have a heat of reaction of only 73 kJ/mol. Note that low-temperature secondary amines (-10 to +10 °C) are also effective.

In general, it should be noted that the present invention is based not only on the effectiveness of primary amines under ambient conditions, but also on the recognition that CO2 removal from air under ambient conditions is scientific, as long as CO2 extraction from the sorbent is practicable at temperatures Relatively low. Thus, the present invention foresees the use of other sorbents having the desired properties of primary amines for air capture of CO2, and such sorbents will be used in the invention with the process described herein.

Primary amines operate effectively at atmospheric (atmospheric) concentrations under ambient conditions. CO2 loading depends strongly on the ratio of heat of reaction/K (Boltzmann constant) T (temperature); The heat difference of reaction between primary and secondary amines, as shown above, can cause a loading difference factor of about 100 times, following the well-known langmuir isotherm equation. It is preferable to carry the amine groups on a highly porous structure, which has a high affinity for amines, or on which amine groups can be deposited. Alternatively, the amine groups can be part of a polymer that itself forms a highly porous structural structure. The highly porous alumina structure is effective when used as a structure to hold amines. This ceramic structure incorporates a porous surface and volume to achieve high loading rates of amines expressed as millimoles of nitrogen sites in the amine per gram of porous substrate. The preferred structure load-bearing material has 230 cells per cm3 at a thickness of six inches. Another structure that can be used is based on a porous silica material known as cordierite and is manufactured and sold by Corning under the trade name CELCOR. The CELCOR product is prepared with large, straight channels extending through the split column, and the inner walls of the channels are coated with a coating layer of a porous material, such as alumina, to which the amine can be bound or deposited within the pores of this layer (which preferably attaches to the amine compounds).

The cost of the process can be reduced by making the separation column thinner, by increasing the density of the primary amine groups per volume and thus a smaller volume of the separation column is needed to achieve an adsorbing time greater than the time required for the layer to move between adsorption and regeneration and to perform the steam extraction process. This can be achieved through the use of a separate contact structure made from a primary amine-based polymer, but is also partially achieved through the formation of a separate column structure of alumina. Although alumina does not form a robust structure as cordierite does, for the conditions encountered at ambient air trapping temperature or the relatively low temperatures at which CO2 adsorbed on amines can be extracted at ambient temperatures, the structural durability of alumina is sufficient.

The above modifications are important for air entrainment because they reduce the cost of preparing the structure as well as the amount of energy required to heat the alumina holding structure to the extraction temperature.

It is also advantageous to provide relatively thin contacts, which have a high CO2 loading capacity with rapid cycling between adsorption and regeneration. A two-layer version can be used where one layer adsorbs and the other regenerates. It is preferable to use flat disc layers, which are of length, in the direction of airflow, in the range no greater than about 20 cm, to about 0.08 cm, or thinner. The most desirable range for thickness is no thicker than about 8 inches, and the most desirable is no thicker than about 3 inches.

When using cordierite CELCOR alumina, or any separate structure equipped with channels to pass the full thickness of the separate column, the length of the contact scales in the direction of the air flow, for a constant pressure drop and a constant laminar air flow, and with a constant free fraction, such as the area of the square channel openings in CELCOR split column; The cycle time, as determined by saturation of the sorbent with CO2 or until a constant level of CO2 absorption, is scaled by the same factor. The void fraction is the ratio of the open inlet area to the total inlet area of the front surface of the split shaft, facing the airflow. The empty fraction of the separate column should preferably range from 0.7 to 0.9, i.e. between 70% and 90% of the open channels.

Thus, as the size of the individual split-column slots of the fixed blank is reduced, the length of the channels, i.e. the thickness of the split structure relative to the constant pressure drop, will decrease in proportion to the area of that slot, while the adsorb time will decrease to reach a constant level of adsorption, or to reach saturation. , proportionally at the same rate at which the length decreases. Since the cost will decrease as the length decreases (the shorter the length of the device, the lower the cost, approximately in proportion to the length), this is determined by the increased cost that would result from reducing the cycle time and the cost of manufacturing separate columns with thin walls. The amount of length that can be reduced will be determined by the sorbent loading, for example, the number of amine groups that can be placed in the pore walls, per unit volume of the separated column walls, and the greater the loading, the shorter the length of the separated column, for a fixed cycle time.

The above variants assume that a certain constant loading (of sorbent groups, such as primary amine groups) has been achieved. In addition, the inlet air velocity was assumed to be constant in the comments above.

It must be recognized that the drop in pressure per ton of CO2 capture increases as airflow speed increases, increasing the cost of electricity to move the air, to the point where natural forces, such as wind, are insufficient to achieve the desired airflow. The cost of the entire process other than the electricity cost is reduced when the air flow speed is increased. Therefore, the choice of air speed is a compromise between capital cost, which decreases as air flow speed increases, and operating costs, which increases as air flow speed increases. It is preferable to work with an inlet air flow in the range of 2 to 4 m/s.

Relative costs will vary depending on local conditions at each unit location, for example, whether or not there is reliable prevailing wind, and on the cost of local electricity.

It has also been found that the CO2 capture time can be several times greater than the CO2 extraction time. Therefore, it is possible to save on capital cost by using only one layer with an adsorb time ten times greater than the movement time and steam extraction time. Steam extraction time can be reduced by increasing the steam flow rate during the regeneration process. Alternatively, a double layer model can be used which can remove two or more absorbent layers using the same extraction chamber. This will improve capital cost savings by reducing the flow length of the two layers. It is possible to create two absorption layers such that the thickness of each layer is reduced by a large factor, for example, 10 times or more. Specifically, two or more fine sorbent structures may be moved between the air trapping position and the extraction chamber. This can allow one layer to be extracted, including cooling to ambient extraction temperature, while the other regenerating layer is facing fresh air flow.

For thin contacts, the ceramic discrete shaft may be replaced by a thin fixed foil, cloth or type of contact, where the foil, like cloth, is covered with sorbent and fixed, so that it can be moved continuously on rollers rather than intermittently in an elevator. At this extent, the flexible wafer can become a continuous process where the wafer carrying the absorbent material is moved continuously between the adsorption and regeneration stages on a set of rollers, provided that an effective seal is formed between the retention and extraction stages of the process. In this range, when the length is reduced, other models become possible. For example, another embodiment can include a thin flexible contact, consisting of, for example, a thin foil or fabric. The flexible contact can move continuously between the adsorption position and the regeneration position, for example, on a continuous pulley-type device. This could be conceptually analogous to the dual version of the elevator model detailed herein, in that while part of the contactor can be moved in the adsorption chamber, the other part can be moved in the regeneration chamber. This essentially converts the thrust elevator design to a continuous moving operation. This design is based on reliable seals that can separate the adsorption chamber from the regeneration chamber while the contactor moves between the two chambers.

The following computational model provides a useful procedure for improving the effectiveness of the CO2 capture process and system of the present invention. This model is based on the following basic process performance variables.

= Specific heat of the supporting structural material, expressed in joules/kg in degrees Kelvin

d = Average pore size of skeleton

HRs = heat of reaction of the sorbent (amine), expressed in joules/kg of CO2

L = load, moles of CO2/kg sorbent structure,

Ld/a = Actual loading, in kg of CO2 per square meter of separated air intake area in a 230-cell Corning split column

Ns = density of CO2 adsorbent sites on porous surfaces, in number of sites per square meter of porous surface. In general, when loading is increased, a high amine activity is desired as determined by the fraction of amine sites present and available for CO2 binding. This is the reason why primary amines are preferred as well as to adjust loading to minimize pore clogging.

Experimental results indicate that the optimal loading that balances amine effectiveness with incremental loading ranges from 40 to 60 vol% of organic amine content relative to the porous substrate/structure to which it is bound or in whose pores it is deposited.

Pcm = density of the structural material (such as silica or alumina) in kg/m³

PORc = porosity,

PUR = ratio of released CO2 to trapped air, CO2 purity,

RH = heat of reaction; Ratio of sensible heat to RH heat of reaction during SH/RH regeneration.

Savc = surface area per volume of structure, expressed as 1/square meter of surface/cubic meter

SH = Sensible Heat

TA = time to reach saturation with CO2, time to achieve adsorption

TS = time to regeneration using steam extraction,

w = skeleton pore wall thickness

Important design variables that must be considered while designing this process.

The pore structure is determined by the average pore/channel volume d, and the wall thickness of w. PORc is the ratio of the exposed wall area to the total surface area perpendicular to the air flow direction. In this model, this is equal to the ratio of the average exposed channel area to the total average area. To approximate, the sinuous nature of the curves in the channels of the walls of the porous medium is overlooked. Therefore, PORc = d2 / (d+w) 2. The surface area per volume is expressed by the following equation: Savc= 4 d/ (d+w) 2 = 4 PORc/d. The pressure drop depends on the size of the openings in the duct, the free portion of the separate column, the length and the speed of the air flow.

The sorbent structure and general operation of the sorbent

Figure 12 shows a schematic diagram of a ceramic substrate structure, of the type produced by Corning under the trade name CELCOR, which may be used in the absorbent structure, according to the principles of the present invention. The sorbent (amine, for example) is carried by (e.g., coated or mounted on) the interior of one or more CELCOR ceramic substrates, which provide a large surface area and a small pressure drop, when the loaded air flows with CO2 through the substrate. The absorbing structure may include, for example, a plurality of CELCOR cellular ceramic substrates stacked as bricks or a single substrate having the disc shape shown above in Figure 6 (i.e., a front surface area greater than the thickness), and the CO2-laden air is directed through the cells. Absorbent structure. The sorbent structure is also expected to be formed by embedding the sorbent material in the coating layer, such as alumina, on the walls of the CELCOR structure to form a separate sorbent structure. It is also worth noting that the most preferred structure is that of porous alumina bricks, rather than the silica of cordierite. Although the alumina structure is not as physically and/or chemically strong as the silica structure, the less stringent conditions found in the ambient temperature holding process as well as the relatively low temperature extraction process allow the less strong structure to be used .

In addition, it is worth noting that the substrate, in addition to being a ceramic structure, is an inorganic material, so the absorbing structure can be an organic material such as that composed of polymerized polyamine through crosslinking the amine polymer to form Solid polymer. It must be possible to extrude the solid polymer at a temperature low enough to not volatilize, or to soften it at the temperature of the extraction stream, i.e. up to 120°C, used to regenerate the sorbent.

The binding sites in the porous structure are determined by the amount and dispersion of the amines throughout the porous structure. There are three generally recognized categories of portable supported amine that can be used for the present situation. The currently preferred adsorbents falling into the first category are based on porous carriers impregnated with monomeric or polymeric amines (Figure 12). Thus, amine species are physically loaded onto or in the pores of the carrier structure. This class of sorbents has been described in the technical reference, for example, in:

Xu, XC, et al., Preparation and characterization of novel CO2 “molecular basket” absorbents based on polymer-modified mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41. Microporous Mesoporous Mat., 2003. 62(1-2): p. 29-45 and Xu, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2005. 44(21): p. 8113-8119 and Xu, XC, et al., Novel polyethylenimine-modified mesoporous molecular sieve of MCM-41 type as high-capacity adsorbent for CO2 capture. Energy Fuels, 2002. 16(6): p. 1463-1469

Adsorbents falling under the second category are based on amines covalently attached to the solid carrier. There are methods known in the art to form this second class of adsorbents in the porous structure of the present invention. This has been achieved by attaching amines to the porous walls of the ceramic column, such as silica oxides or alumina oxides, through the use of silane chemistry, or by preparing polymeric supports with amine-containing side chains.

Adsorbents falling into the third category are based on porous carriers on which aminopolymers are polymerized in situ, starting with an amine-containing monomer. This Class III species has been described for use as a CO2 capture adsorbent by:

Hicks, J.C., et al., Designing absorbents for CO2 capture from effluent gas-hyperbranched aminosilicas capable, of capturing CO2 reversibly. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 2008. 130(10): p. 2902-2903.and by Drese, JH, et al., Synthesis-Structure-Property Relationships for Hyperbranched Aminosilica CO2 Adsorbents. Adv. Funct. Mater., 2009. 19(23): p. 3821-3832

Each of the mentioned classes of adsorbents can be used for CO2 capture and steam regeneration studies.

The most preferred sorbent structure is one in which the primary amine is included in the sorbent structure itself, requiring only one step to perform. This model can be prepared from plastic/polymers, which can withstand the mild conditions used in the system of the present invention. The separate column can be a composition comprising non-polymeric and inorganic materials, and this composition can have properties such as strength, porosity and stability that make it useful.

The following procedures can be followed to provide amine absorbent material carried on commercial particulate silica supplied by PQ (PQ-9023) or medium cellular foam. To prepare all adsorbents, the silica substrate was first dried at low pressure at 100 °C for 24 h to remove the adsorbent on the surface before use. Commercial particulate silica supplied by PQ (PQ-9023) and a laboratory-prepared cellular foam medium were used as carrier materials. Commercial silica has a surface area of 303 m2/g, an average pore volume of 1.64 cm3/g and an average pore diameter of 60 nm. The medium cellular foam was prepared following the method given in the references,

Wystrach, V.P., D.W. Kaiser, and F.C. Schaefer, PREPARATION OF ETHYLENIMINE AND TRIETHYLENEMELAMINE. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 1955. 77(22): p. 5915-5918

Specifically, in the typical synthesis process, 16 g of Pluronic P123 triblock copolymer EO-PO-EO (Sigma-Aldrich) was used as a template agent and dissolved in 260 g of deionized water with 47.1 g of concentrated HCl. Then 16 g of triethylbenzene (TMB, 97%, Aldrich) was added at 40 °C and stirred for 2 h before adding 34.6 g of tetraethyl orthosilicate (98%, Aldrich) to the solution. The solution was maintained at 40 °C for 20 h before adding 184 mg of NH4F (in 20 ml of water). The mixture was then aged at 100 °C for another 24 hours.

The resulting silica filtered was filtered, washed with water, dried in an oven, and roasted at 550 °C in air for 6 hours to remove the organic template before use. Medium cellular foamed silica has a surface area of 615 m2/g, an average pore volume of 2.64 cm3/g and average window and cell diameters of 12 nm and 50 nm.

In general, for a Class I sorbent, the amine compound can be applied to the porous substrate structure through physical impregnation of liquid or vapor phases. The amine compound can diffuse into the pores of the substrate structure. In this model, pore size becomes the primary variable that determines loading and pores ranging from 5 to 15 nm are preferred but the conclusion is the desire to have walls that are as thin as possible and highly porous so that they are physically strong enough to have a structurally strong separate column. As an example of preparing a Class I adsorbent, 18 kg of low molecular weight poly(ethylenimine) (PEI, molecular number ca. 600, molecular weight ca. 800, Aldrich) was first mixed for 1 hour. Then, 30 kg of amorphous particulate silica (PQ Corporation, PD-09023) [or a suitable substrate (175 square inches) from the CELCOR split column] was added and the liquid was stirred for another 12 h.

The methanol solvent was then removed by rotary evaporation, and the resulting portable adsorbent (“PQ-PEI”) was dried at low pressure at 75 °C overnight before use.

To prepare the Class II adsorbent, 90 l of anhydrous toluene (99.5%, Aldrich) and 3 kg of particulate silica (PQ Company) or a suitable separate substrate (e.g., CELCOR split-column brick with a frontal surface area of 36 kg) were mixed inch square, and a pore surface area of 175 square inches) in a pressure cooker for 1 hour, and then 30 kg of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS, Aldrich) was added to the mixture. The mixture was kept with vigorous stirring for 24 h at room temperature. The resulting portable adsorbent (PQ-Mono) was extracted by filtration, washed with toluene and acetone, and then dried overnight, at low pressure, at 75 °C. For Category III adsorbent, mesocellular silica foam (MCF) [or a suitable substrate (175 square inches) from a separate CELCOR column] reacted with ziridine (a highly reactive but toxic substance) in a manner similar to that given in References:

Hicks, J.C., et al., Designing absorbents for CO2 capture from effluent gas-hyperbranched aminosilicas capable, of capturing CO2 reversibly. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 2008. 130(10): p. 2902-2903

For this synthesis, 30 kg of MCF was dispersed in 90 L of toluene in a suitable pressure vessel and the mixture was stirred for 1 hour before adding 60 kg of aziridine (which was synthesized according to the following procedure:

Wystrach, V.P., D.W. Kaiser, and F.C. Schaefer, PREPARATION OF ETHYLENIMINE AND TRIETHYLENEMELAMINE. J.Am. Chem. Soc., 1955. 77(22): p. 5915-5918

Immediately before use. After continuous stirring for 24 hours, the resulting portable adsorbent (MCF-HAS) was filtered, washed with toluene and ethanol, and dried overnight under low pressure at 75 °C.

Air loaded with CO2 is passed through the sorbent structure, which is preferably disc-shaped, i.e. the dimension in the direction of the airflow is two times smaller than the other two dimensions marked for surfaces facing in the path of the airflow, and the amine sites on the absorbent structure are bound to the CO2 Until the absorbing structure reaches a specified saturation level, or the CO2 level at the outlet of the absorbing structure reaches a specific value indicating the start of CO2 penetration (CO2 penetration means that the absorbing structure is sufficiently saturated with CO2, that is, the absorbing structure has not retained a large amount of CO2 additional). When there is a need to remove and collect CO2 from the absorber structure (and to regenerate the absorber structure), in a manner described below in relation to Figures 10a to 10h, the absorber structure will be removed from the carbon dioxide air stream and isolated from the air stream and other air intake sources. The steam is then passed through the absorbent structure. As it passes to and through the front of the absorbent structure, the vapor will begin to condense and transfer its latent heat of condensation to the absorbent structure until the entire absorbent structure reaches its saturation temperature, after which when the vapor comes into contact with the hot sorbent it will condense and thus approximately every mole of vapor will condense To release sufficient latent heat to provide the heat of reaction required to liberate one mole of CO2 from the primary supported amine. When the condensate and then the vapor pass through the sorbent structure and are heated, the CO2 that was previously held by the absorbent structure will be released, producing more condensed water to provide the heat of reaction required to release the CO2 from the absorbent structure and push it out with steam or extract it with an exhaust fan/pump. This technique is referred to as “steam extraction” and will also be described below. Steam passes through the absorbent structure to release CO2 from the sorbent; For reasons of energy efficiency costs one may wish to minimize the amount of steam used that is mixed with the CO2 flow. Thus, whatever is to be condensed (or can be condensed), once it leaves the regeneration chamber, the condensate can be added to that in the regeneration chamber, and recycled to be heated and converted back into steam for other uses.

The extraction process will usually be terminated when vapor breakthrough begins, when the amount of non-condensed vapor escaping from the back end of the absorber structure becomes greater compared to the newly released CO2. The actual conditions for terminating new steam injection will be determined by the balance of the increasing fraction of CO2 removed with the increasing cost of energy as the steam process becomes less efficient in terms of the proportion of CO2 released per steam energy used. This energy will need to be replaced when heating the steam and condensate for the next extraction cycle. Actual specifications will vary with the effectiveness of heat recovery and the cost of process heat used for a particular application.

System: In designing the structure of the system comprising the present invention for commercialization, the following design variables must be considered. If Ns is the number of CO2 binding sites per square meter of porous surface, Av is Avogadro's number, and if the density of the skeletal structure material is Pcm, then the porous structure will have a density of Pc expressed by the following equation: Pc= (1-PORc) Pcm, and Expressing the loading L in moles per kilogram of sorbent structure with the following equation:

L= Ns Savc/Av Pc =4 Ns PORc/ Av d Pcm(1-PORc)

If the above equation is solved for PORc, the following will be discovered:

L=(4 Ns/Av Pcm) ( 1/(2w + w2/d )).

Since it is desirable to maximize the CO2 loading absorbed by the structure, supported amine sorbents provide the required high Ns. In any case, the above analysis shows that it is preferable for the walls to be as thin as possible, between the pores/channels in the porous carrier material. Loading expressed in moles/kg is first order, independent of pore size, with a decrease in Savc, as porosity increases by enlarging the pore volume, and first order abolished by a decrease in the density of the porosity carrier, Pcm. The values for Av and Pcm of 2500 kg/m3 can be entered (note that the average value is obtained for the difference in the combined quartz and silica values) and Ns converted to Nsn which is the number of binding sites per nanometer squared, where w and d are in nanometers, to discover: L = 1.33 (Nsn/ w (1+ w/2d) moles/kg, for the structure. For sites of Nsn = 5 per nanometer, w = 2 nm, and d = 5 nm, a porosity of about 0.5 resulted in a surface area per gram of 400 mm2 and L = 2.5 mol/kg of skeletal structure.

The actual CO2 loading capacity, expressed in kg/m3 of air input, Ld/a, where the load-bearing wall thickness Wc and the separate column length (in the direction of air flow) is:

Lm is expressed by the following equation Ld/a= L(.044)(Pcm(1-PORc)) Savm Wc Lm, which replaces L,

Ld/a= (Ns Savc/Av Pcm(1-PORc)) (.044)(Pcm(1-PORc)) Savm Wc Lm;

Ld/a= Ns(.044)/Av) ( Savc Savm Wc Lm), replacing Savc,

Ld/a= Ns(.044)/Av) ( Savm Wc Lm) ( 4/d(1+w/d)2 ).

In one example, using a 230-cell CELCOR separate column supplied by Corning, the pore flow length Lm is 0.146 m, the surface area per volume of the separate column Savm is approximately 2000 m2/m3 and the pore wall thickness of the separate column Wm is 0.265 mm, Which is determined from Ld/a=L (0.44 kg/mol) (Pc Savm, 146 Wm) for the amount of CO2 in kg/m2 of air intake area. A general design criterion is to make the values of L and Ld/a as large as possible, and to be limited by a pressure drop constraint, i.e. limited by the wind force and/or propeller array, which is fulfilled in the first embodiment of the present invention using the formulation results of Savm for the shaft Corning separator containing 230 cells, pore length, in the airflow direction, 0.146 m and inlet airflow velocity 2.5 m/s.

The walls of the separated column must be of the desired PORc, and the number of binding sites to provide Nsn is high. Wm is determined based on optimizing (minimizing) the pressure drop/Savm, which will in turn depend on how small the amount of Wm must be to include the acceptable loading, based on other constraints (see below). It is worth noting that L increases with decreasing w, and d increases, but Ld/a decreases, with increasing pore volume for constant w, since porosity increases with decreasing Pc. In general, the optimal design includes a smaller w, and a porosity that balances the effect of pore size on the performance variables described below. It is necessary to remember that the amine compound can be impregnated as a liquid into the pores of the separate column as well or instead carried on the walls of the porous structure.

Air trapping following the present invention is a relatively mild condition. This feature of the present invention allows the use of a less robust separate column structure. Specifically, this allows the use of relatively thin walls made of a highly porous material on which the sorbent is deposited; This material is alumina. This will save on costs, by using materials that are generally less strong and therefore less expensive to manufacture.

Performance variables:

SH/RH ratio. As indicated above, for the present invention, the ratio of the sensible heat of the sorbent-bearing structure (SH) to the heat of reaction of the sorbent (HRs) lost, during regeneration, is a key performance factor (a major reason for the need for high loading in this case). . It depends on the loading L, i.e. SH/HR = Csh.ΔT/L.HRs.WC, where Csh is the specific heat of the substrate, expressed in joules per kg to the degree of Kelvin, and HRs is the heat of the adsorption reaction, per mole of CO2, in joules per mole of CO2, and WC is the working bed capacity of the process used (i.e., the fraction of loading retained in each cycle).

Assuming (conservatively) a Csh of 1 kJ/kg K for the solid substrate, a ΔT of 80 °C, and HRs = 84 kJ/mol (about 35 KT), for the primary amine, WC = 1/2, and SH/ HR = 1.9/L. The process needs high HRs for the primary amine to achieve good loading of Ns sites, at an ambient temperature of 25 °C, and for the low partial pressure of CO2 in air. Using only primary amine compounds, the fraction of sites that are bound to CO2 will increase at ambient temperatures and ambient CO2 concentrations, and will be comparable to the results for high concentrations of CO2 in the high-temperature flow gas (45-65°C). It is this surprising result that made it possible to use primary amine compounds to effectively capture air from CO2. Prior art believes that successful air capture requires the use of sodium hydroxide, which has a stronger binding capacity/higher heat of reaction (2 to 4 times that of primary amines), as the adsorbent. This approach was less economical, as higher temperatures were needed to regenerate sodium hydroxide, resulting in the need for larger amounts of costly energy.

The general design criterion of the present invention is for the SH/HR to be as small as possible and for the SH extraction to be as high as possible. But in any case, SH/HR must be less than or equal to one, but most preferably it ranges from 1/2 to 1. It is worth noting that this requirement depends only on the specific loading, in moles/kg of the structure, and hence again In the first order, it depends only on the increase of Nsn/w, in the case of surface cross-linking. However, there is a second order dependence that reduces the SH/RH ratio as the pore volume decreases.

TA - adsorb time The time remaining to complete adsorb, TA, has been modeled for a 230 c/cubic Corning CELCOR split column with a thickness of six inches (in the airflow direction).

Using these results, TA can be determined from the following relationship, where the left-hand side is the amount of CO2 entering the device and is captured, and the right-hand side is the fraction of inlet CO2 that was captured by amine and collected during the steam extraction process:

P CO2 Vin FC TA= La/d FS WC, where

P CO2 is the density of CO2 in air = 7.6 10-4 kg/m3,

Vin is the inlet air velocity, FC = retained fraction,

FS = Fraction of layer saturation achieved, f

WC = fraction of captured CO2 that is collected.

Hence, TA= La/d FS WC/P CO2.Vin FC=

Ns(.044)/Av)(Savm Wc Lm)(4/d(1+w/d)2 )FS.WC/P CO2.Vin FC

At extremely low temperature locations, secondary amines may also be used, and in fact the compatibility of the system of the present invention can be adjusted by varying the ratio of primary and secondary amines, to limit the heat output. In general, increasing WC, or L, increases the energy efficiency of the process and reduces the costs of providing external heat. Thus, as mentioned before, the SH/HR ratio is varied as 1/w(1+w/2d), and the adsorption time of adsorb TA is varied as 1/d(1+w/d)2, so that they improve as w becomes smaller; But when d becomes smaller, the SH/HR ratio decreases but TA improves, i.e. decreases. To evaluate TA, the same values are used as those used to evaluate L, i.e. 2 nm for w and 5 nm for d, giving a porosity of 0.5 for the skeleton. In the case of physical impregnation, high porosity rates are preferred, which is limited only by the need for structural stability of the separated column.

PUR Collected CO2 Purity: As a final performance factor, the purity of collected CO2 is great in those situations where the extracted CO2 needs to be compressed for shipment into pipelines, in order to be used in enhanced oil recovery processes or for sequestration of ions. The primary factor is the trapped air, not water vapor, which is easier to remove in the initial stages of the compression process if CO2 is to be piped. For other uses where carbon dioxide is not highly compressed, such as feeding algae or input into other processes, the presence of air is not a problem. CO2 purity is primarily affected by the amount of air trapped in the capture system when subjected to a steam extraction process. Therefore, this requires that this trapped air be allowed to be removed before CO2 extraction begins, for example, the introduction of extraction steam. It is also preferable to remove any trapped air as oxygen in the air can cause sorbent inhibition when the system is heated to the extraction temperature, specifically in the presence of steam.

Oxygen can actually be removed by pumping air out of the sorbent structure, creating at least a partial vacuum, before heating it to the extraction temperature. As an unexpected advantage, when primary amine groups are used as the sorbent, the reduction in pressure within the structure will not result in a correlative loss in any adsorbed CO2, when the sorbent is at relatively ambient temperatures, when the partial pressure is reduced by pumping. CO2 is not spontaneously released from the amine at these low temperatures. This liberation, as demonstrated by experiment, requires an extraction temperature of at least 90°C.

This process can be performed when the initial trapping phase results in significant CO2 saturation on the sorbent, or even results in only 60 to 80% CO2 saturation. This will significantly reduce the capture cycle time to the extent of 40%, such that continuous cycling of the process will result in greater CO2 recovery per unit time. In general, absorption slows as the sorbent approaches saturation.

Details of preferred embodiments of this invention will be shown in the context of the following examples of CO2 capture and extraction systems by reference to the accompanying figures.

Figures 17a, 17b, 18a, and 18b show schematic diagrams of several methods by which carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere, according to the principles of the present invention.

When a sorbent structure, such as a substrate carrying an absorbent primary amine, is in a CO2 trapping position (e.g., substrate position 600, in Figure 6, or Figures 17a and 18a), the CO2-laden air is directed at the substrate (at For example, by a single large fan 604, shown with dashed lines, in Figure 6, or by a group of small fans 2004, as shown in Figures 22 and 23), the air thus flows across the substrate and comes into contact with the sorbent, contacting carbon dioxide with The absorption medium is on the surfaces of the substrate, and is largely removed from the air. The carbon dioxide-laden air is directed through the substrate so that the carbon dioxide in the air comes into contact with the medium, the carbon dioxide is largely removed from the air by the medium, and the air containing a trace amount of CO2 from which the carbon dioxide has been removed is directed Quite a bit of it, away from the substrate, and back into the atmosphere.

In embodiments of the figures above, the substrates move between the CO2 capture area and the CO2 2006 extraction/regeneration chamber. When the substrate is moved into the CO2 2006 extraction chamber, i.e. the lower position shown in Figures 6, 17b, and 18b, the substrate is largely at ambient temperature, and the The heat of reaction of absorption activity by the convective effect of the blown mass or air from which CO2 has been removed, which is much greater than the amount of CO2.

Any air trapped in the substrate 2002 and chamber 2006 can be pumped out, for example, by an air vacuum pump 2023, or even by an exhaust fan, to create a partial vacuum in the chamber 2006. The heat of the process is then directed, for example, as Saturated steam from the 2019 combined steam generator, at and through the CO2-laden substrate 602 and 2002 in the 2006 extraction chamber.

Carbon dioxide is removed from the sorbent by a flow of a relatively superheated stream; The entering steam shall be at a temperature not exceeding 130°C, preferably not exceeding 120°C, and most preferably not exceeding 110°C. Steam, comprising primarily carbon dioxide and some saturated steam, flows out of the extraction chamber 2006 and through the exhaust duct 2008 to the separator, where any steam present is condensed. The liquid condensed water was separated from the gaseous extracted CO2. Some of the vapor condensed in the sorbent structure itself during the extraction process will be collected in a draft at the bottom of the regeneration chamber (for example, by tilting the structure slightly out of level) or will be evaporated immediately after being pumped out, reducing the pressure in the regeneration chamber upon completion of the process. Steam extraction. Condensed steam evaporation will cool the sorbent structure before bringing it into contact with the air to trap more CO2. (This will also reduce the tendency of oxygen to desorb the sorbent by oxidizing it.) Some of the water left in the porous structure can also be removed by the effect of passing air through the device in the adsorb step (this will depend on the ambient humidity). It has been shown experimentally that the effectiveness of detention increases in the presence of moisture. This is well known in the art and results from the fact that a dry sorbent must use two amine sites to bind CO2 to the sorbent when dry, 50% amine effectiveness, with only one amine binding site for each CO2 captured in the presence of high humidity, 100% amine effectiveness. possible. Possible amine efficacy may be limited by pore blockage and by the amount of layer that will be saturated with CO2 before the adsorbing process is terminated and the adsorbent structure is moved to the regeneration step. The CO2 extracted from the regenerated sorbent is pumped into a storage tank where it is maintained at a slightly high pressure for immediate use, for example, to provide a CO2-rich atmosphere to enhance algae growth, or the CO2 gas can be compressed to high pressures, by Compressor 2014, for a long storage period or for transportation by pipeline for final use at a remote location, for example, sequestration or treatment of oil wells or natural gas wells to improve production. During any initial compression phase, the CO2 is purified by condensing any remaining vapor, the water condensate being in turn removed by known means.

The pedestals 602 and 2002 are moved, alternatively, between, for example, the upper and lower positions, by means of an elevator system consisting of, for example, pulleys, or hydraulic jacks. It is believed that the faster the cycle time, the lower the overall cost of achieving annual production of captured CO2. It has been found that the time required for the extraction step, including bed agitation, initial air pumping, steam extraction time, cooling period, and return time to the adsorb phase, can be several times less than the time of the CO2 capture step, which helps achieve the single-layer model. At a high percentage of time (90%) with the layer in adsorb mode. Alternatively, very short motion-limited times can be achieved with steam extraction time and then use a model in which two or more absorbent structures are extracted in a single extraction chamber, respectively. When developing commercial CO2 recovery facilities, one option is expected to include scaling them to removal capacity at a rate of approximately 1 million metric tons (1,000,000) of CO2 per year from the atmosphere. This facility will utilize a minimum of 500 reversibly moving pedestal units, each unit having main rectangular surfaces extending and perpendicular to the airflow with an area of approximately 50 square metres, and a thickness, in the direction of flow, preferably not more than about six (6) inches, but Usually it is at least 0.06 inch (1.5 mm) less. Each separate unit is preferably composed of separate brick-shaped elements, each of the thickness required for the unit, but having a surface area of 6 inches by 6 inches so that the unit can be formed from approximately 2,000 bricks, stacked together.

It is preferable to place the arrays of units in the molding pattern shown in Figures 21a and 21b, where it is preferable that the point of the molding be directed towards the prevailing winds and that the units be placed along the arms of the molding such that they are all exposed to the prevailing winds, and/or to their fans, or another means to provide A flow of air that is described herein. The distance between the arms of the architectural ornament is determined by the rate at which the low-CO2 air ejected from the first row is effectively mixed with the ambient air such that the air entering the second row approaches the concentration of the ambient air. In general, calculations suggest that this would be on the order of 100 metres. However, certain conditions will reduce the distance, for example, raising the adsorb chamber off the ground, or the presence of prevailing winds or unusually advantageous terrain will increase mixing, reducing the necessary separation distance.

In the mixing method, where small percentages by volume of the flowing gas are mixed with the air, one embodiment may include the ambient air in the first row and then taking the exhausted air and mixing the flowing gas into the exhausted air to introduce it into the second row. For cases where there is only a limited amount of flue gas to mix with the air and where it is desired to remove more of the total amount of CO2 than the amount emitted in the flue gas, the relative amounts of air and flue gas mixing can be adjusted by adjusting the percentage of flue gas mixed with air and/or by dividing units and varying mixtures of air streams and flue streams in different units, including some of these streams that are fresh air capture. Thus, by using an air/flue gas mixer, the portion of the total amount of CO2 collected that exceeds the amount emitted into the flue can be controlled to any preferred level.

The absorbent medium preferably contains primary amine groups as active CO2 trapping sites but can include some secondary amine groups. Examples of suitable adsorbents that can be carried onto the structures of the invention include polyethyleneimines, hyperbranched aminopolymers, and propylethylenediamine, all of which are discussed under Classes 1, 2, and 3.

As a means of improving the effectiveness of the method and system of the present invention, a small percentage of flowing gas from a hydrocarbon-fueled energy source used for the primary process may be added adjacent to the CO2 capture unit, as shown in Figures 17a and 19. As shown in the attached figures, the effluent gas from the primary process is first passed through a pre-treatment stage 2032 and treated to remove any solid or liquid impurities and any gaseous materials that could interfere with the effectiveness of other absorbents, such as sulfur-oxygen compounds. It is preferable to mix no more than 5% by volume of the treated effluent gas in the gas mixer 2004 to be mixed with the incoming ambient air, before passing to the sorbent structure 2003 to trap CO2. It is preferable that the amount of flowing gas added does not exceed 3% by volume, and most preferably not more than 2% by volume. The small amount of added treated effluent gas should not have a significant effect on the temperature of the inlet airflow into the sorbent structure 2003, but should result in a relatively large increase in the CO2 concentration in the inlet air, making CO2 capture more effective. Using theoretical calculations, it is shown that increasing the effective CO2 concentration of the mixture by adding the flow gas by 3%, leads to an increase in the CO2 concentration in the air by a rate ranging from five to ten times; However, the CO2 concentration remains 30 times lower than in the flowing gas. However, when a concentration above this concentration is reached due to the addition of a small amount of flow gas, the temperature rise resulting from the heat of the desorption reaction becomes significant, reducing the effectiveness of CO2 capture from the surrounding air, and hence there is a need to use flow gas designs. for effluent gas need to be utilized. Thus, limiting the amount of flow gas added is one way to avoid the cost associated with providing the cooling required to prevent overheating.

It is worth noting that the preferred location for a CO2 recovery facility, in addition to being adjacent to a suitable process heat source, should be in an area having regular wind flow patterns. This way, if there are strong winds, natural wind flows can be used to push air across the substrate, without requiring additional energy to operate the fans. As a result of naturally occurring winds, the fan's energy can be replaced, at least partially, by prevailing winds or by a solar driven source (which can, for example, provide thermally-driven air currents). This will improve energy efficiency and reduce the costs of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Furthermore, as an alternative to moving substrates carrying the sorbent between retention and regeneration (extraction) chamber locations, by equipping appropriate valve and tubing arrangements, with appropriate sensors and controls, the sorbent structure units can remain largely in one location and can Control flows to, through and away from the sorbent as shown in Figure 19 herein.

In the automated system shown in Figure 19, the means of generating air flows, process heat flow, and carbon dioxide flow can be diverted away from the substrate, using valves where the carbon dioxide is captured from the air and then extracted from the medium, as will be demonstrated by those skilled in the art.

Substrates 2002 and 3001 (in Figures 17, 18, and 22 through 24, herein) are porous, such that air directed at the substrate can flow through the substrate. When the substrate is in the air extraction position (e.g., Pedestal Position 2002, Fig. 17a), carbon dioxide-laden air is directed at the substrate (e.g., by fan 704 shown with dashed lines), so that the air flows across the substrate , carbon dioxide comes into contact with the medium and is largely removed from the air. Thus, the carbon dioxide-laden air at and through the substrate is directed so that the carbon dioxide comes into contact with the medium, the carbon dioxide is substantially removed from the air by the medium, and the air from which the carbon dioxide is removed is directed substantially away from the substrate.

When the substrate is moved to the carbon extraction position (e.g., substrate position numbered 2006), the heat of the process, in the form of saturated steam, is directed at the substrate (e.g., 2005 in Figure 17b), and carbon dioxide is removed, With any remaining vapor (in the direction shown by arrow 708 in Fig. 7) to the absorption source placed in the channel 710 (fig. 7) and in or adjacent to the separation unit 2009 (in Fig. 17a), through which the removed carbon dioxide is drawn away About the substrate.

As well as moving the substrates between the two physical locations, the channels for generating airflows, process heat flow and CO2 flow can be diverted to and away from the substrate, capturing CO2 from the air and then extracting it from the medium, as will be demonstrated to those skilled in the art.

It is also noteworthy that in all versions of the invention described above, CO2 can be removed from the air such that the CO2 extraction stage does not completely saturate the amine groups, i.e. the absorption medium does not reach equilibrium conditions. This results in a short cycle time, and because of the slow adsorb rate that occurs as the amine reaches its equilibrium saturation point, over an extended process run, the use of short cycle times may result in efficient extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere.

The vertical elevator principle is given in Figures 10a to 10f, 10h, 22f, 23a, 23b and 24a to 24c. These figures show plans of elevator and room structures, and designs improving the system by which carbon dioxide can be captured from CO2-laden air and then extracted using process heat steam, according to the principles of the present invention. Moreover, by operating the elevator vertically, when the regeneration stage is at the bottom, the weight of the matrix, carried from the upper surface, can make the box self-sealing.

Specifically, in the figures, a rectangular CO2 capture structure 1000, 3000 is shown, which includes a sorbent structure 3001, as described herein, which can be moved between a position in contact with CO2-laden air to trap CO2 Carbon from the air. The rectangular absorbent structure 3001 has a relatively large area perpendicular to the airflow relative to its thickness, and is oriented vertically with respect to a largely horizontal flow of CO2-laden air. The carbon dioxide capture capture structure 3001 comprises a solid, nonporous top member 1002 and 3002, preferably a solid metal plate; The absorbent structure 3001 is carried between the top and bottom members 3002 and 3003. The lower member shall also be a solid plate 3003, preferably a solid metal plate, as it helps force air out of the regeneration chamber/stripping. When placed in a CO2-laden air stream, the sorbent structure 3001 is exposed to a CO2-laden air stream passing through its large surfaces, directed by an array of exhaust fans 3010, or by prevailing winds; The sorbent material traps carbon dioxide from the air flowing through the absorbent structure. The highly porous absorbent structure of 3001 and 1004 provides a large surface area and minimal pressure drop.

When the sorbent traps the preferred amount of carbon dioxide from the air, the air flow can be shut off, as needed. As the air flows through the sorbent, the air flowing from the sorbent body 3001 is largely CO2 depleted (preferably about 95% CO2 depleted). It is known that under certain conditions the relative vertical positions of the detention and extraction chambers can be reversed, although it is preferable for the detention unit to be at the top, because of the need for significant mixing to be done away from ground level.

In the regeneration position, the absorbent structure 3001 is then heated by a flow of process heat (preferably from a cogeneration system and process, as described herein). As described above, the process heat is preferably converted via a heat exchanger into saturated steam, which is introduced into a sealed lower chamber following air exhaust, to extract CO2 from the sorbent, as described above, by the combined effect of heat and steam. As the regeneration box 1014 is heated (preferably by the “steam extraction process” described herein), the carbon dioxide is separated from the sorbent structure and drawn, along with any non-condensed vapor, into a separation chamber, where Remove any remaining liquid water, to allow more vapor to condense as it cools. Pure carbon dioxide can then be used or its pressure increased and its ions sequestrated, as needed. After CO2 has been extracted from the absorber structure 3001 and withdrawn from the leak-proof chamber, the regenerating absorber structure is then moved upward to return it to the CO2 trapping position, as illustrated by a series of drawings in Figures 23A to 23C, and schematically in Figures 17A, 17B, 18A, and 18B. .

Figure 17b shows an alternative schematic of the structure and technology presented in Figure 10a. Alternatively, a pair of carbon dioxide 1000 structures may move between the upper and lower positions, such that the CO2 capture structure in the upper position removes carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide-laden air and the carbon dioxide is removed from the absorbing structure in the upper position In the site of regeneration or bottom extraction. The two absorbent structures can act as counterweights to each other as they move up and down.

Steam extraction

M- There are two expected techniques for the steam extraction process. The preferred technique is referred to as “steam-only steam extraction.”

N- It is worth noting that the additional step of cooling the absorbent layer by evaporation before raising it back to the adsorbent position will reduce the risk of decomposition when oxygen in the air comes into contact with the absorbent material at an elevated temperature. This is achieved by using a powerful enough exhaust pump from the extraction chamber so that at the low output pressure at least some of the condensed vapor evaporates, removing latent heat with the resulting cooling of the separate absorbent column.

The steam extraction process, as described above, will be performed by the previous method described in Figures 17 through 23 herein.

Characteristics of the sorbent material

In general, the sorbent material forming the sorbent structure has the ability to adsorb CO2 at a low (ambient) temperature and low concentration and to regenerate at a high temperature (for heat process steam) and high concentration (where the CO2 captured by the structure may include The absorbent has a high CO2 concentration when extraction occurs). The concentration of CO2 in CO2-laden air is 300 times smaller than the concentration of CO2 in flowing gases (a major contributor to the presence of CO2 in the atmosphere). CO2 can be captured from the CO2-laden air stream at ambient temperature (e.g., about 20°C in many climates); The steam temperature used in the steam extraction process described above is 100 to 120°C, based on the Langmuir isotherm or Langmuir adsorption equation (known to those skilled in the art). The temperature of the sorbent structure when trapping air should not be very high, but should preferably remain at a lower ambient temperature when trapping CO2. Otherwise the CO2 loading achievable by the sorbent will be reduced due to the increased temperature, as shown for example in the Langmuir isotherm equation. Thus, while the sorbent is preferably an amine, the specific amine or other suitable sorbent can vary with different climates to optimize the final CO2 collected during each capture and regeneration cycle in which the system and process of the present invention will be used.

Cogeneration and process heat

As explained above, according to the present invention, process heat is used to provide steam used in the “steam extraction” system and process described herein, to remove CO2 from the sorbent structure and regenerate the sorbent structure. The process heat is also preferably provided by a co-generation process and system, wherein a primary process (e.g., petrochemical unit, utilization facility, etc.) produces steam which is fed directly to the system of the present invention and used to remove CO2 from the absorbing structure and then regenerates the structure Absorbent.

Industrial units such as power plants and petrochemical units produce large amounts of steam. The higher the pressure at which steam is generated, the greater the thermal efficiency that can be achieved. The use of cogeneration systems (where a gas turbine produces electricity and hot gases from the turbine are used to generate more steam) improves the overall thermal efficiency of the CO2 capture system and process according to the principles of the present invention.

There are many different designs of steam systems within the petrochemical industry due to the different mix between electric motors and turbine engines to drive pumps and compressors, the temperature required for vertical reboilers and preheating duties, etc. This affects the amount of steam generated and the number of pressure levels at which steam is supplied to the process. Given these qualifications, a “typical” petrochemical steam system design includes steam generated at very high pressure (VHP) by large boilers and cogeneration facilities. VHP steam is passed into and through turbines used to drive engines or compressors, resulting in exhaust steam at low pressures. The next levels are HP and MP supplied from the extraction turbine or by direct release from the VHP steam main source. The final steam level is LP which is supplied by steam coming out of the turbines and by direct release. Each steam level delivers steam to different users and any excess steam is passed on to the next steam level. Thus, the LP steam receives all the steam that cannot be used at high steam levels. It is important to realize that in a petrochemical facility, the steam system must be flexible as different segments of the process can be off-line, in start-up or shut-down mode, or at rates below design rates at different times. This differs from a power unit in which steam must perform only one function: generating electricity.

The steam value depends on the pressure level. The base cost of VHP steam is fixed by capital generation costs and operating costs. Therefore, as the pressure of the steam decreases after it passes through the turbines and is powered, it becomes less effective at generating more electricity, and the value of the steam decreases.

In the proposed use of superheated steam, at ambient pressure, to liberate CO2 from the sorbent structure, the following advantages of a typical large petrochemical facility appear:

Q - At the suggested steam level of the present invention (of 13.79/68.95 kN/m2), the required steam cost will be very low for a typical facility, although it will vary between facilities based on the amount of LP steam available.

P- Compared to the traditional amine system in the effluent gas capture system, which requires extraction steam at approximately 413.69 kN/m2, the cost of the steam used in the present invention will be greatly reduced. In addition, there will likely not be sufficient supply for 60 psi at scale and additional VHP steam generation will be needed. This will raise the cost of extracted steam at 60 psi as it will need to be charged at the full cost of VHP steam or additional turbines will need to be installed to recover the power, but this will involve significant capital costs.

In most power units, the steam source is extracted from a low-pressure turbine to heat the feed water entering the steam. The extracted steam would be suitable for use in the process of the present invention proposed for removing CO2 from the sorbent structure, where it is supplied in combined generation of electricity and industrial heat. In the cogeneration of electricity and CO2, as described in this embodiment of the present invention, it will be possible to use very low pressure (2 psi above atmospheric pressure and a temperature of about 105 °C) and the condensate can be returned to heat the boiler since the process temperature that Only the latent heat of steam is used, so that the 100°C condensate is largely returned to the boiler. While cogeneration of electricity and industrial heat reduces the electricity produced, it increases the overall thermal efficiency of using the generated heat for useful energy from 35 to 40% to 85 to 95%. Therefore, situations where there are many uses for low pressure and temperature steam (typically 120°C, 2 psi above atmospheric pressure) are preferred. In cogeneration and CO2 capture, the facility may be located near the site for the use of low-pressure and low-temperature steam; By being able to use low pressure and temperature steam and re-circulate the hot condensate in the process heat steam loop back to heat the boiler, the impact on electricity generation can be minimized and thus the cost of steam reduced.

Additional Comments Regarding Mixing of Ambient Air and Flow Gas In addition to the ability of the present invention to capture carbon dioxide from the ambient air only, without capturing carbon dioxide from the flow gases, the principles of the present invention can be applied in a new and useful way to improve the removal of CO2 from an air-based mixture Loaded with CO2 and flow gas and make them more efficient (for example, from fossil fuel plants). A relatively large volume fraction (e.g., 97 to 99%) of CO2-laden air is mixed with a relatively small volume of effluent gases (preferably no more than about 3% of the effluent gas, most preferably no more than 2% of flowing gas). The flowing gas contains a relatively high concentration of CO2; It thus produces a fluid stream in which the CO2 in the flowing gas adds enough CO2 to the air to make the cost of removing CO2 from the collected gases advantageous, and also provides benefits as the CO2-laden air cools the flowing gases. It is believed that using the principles of the present invention to produce said mixed gas stream makes the process of the present invention described above particularly effective. The CO2 present in a relatively large volume of mixed CO2-laden air is CO2 at a relatively low concentration, according to the basic principle of an embodiment of the present invention; The small volume of gas flowing increases the CO2 concentration in the fluid stream, and makes the applicant's process more cost effective in a way that it removes CO2 from the surrounding fluid stream. At the same time, the high volume of surrounding air cools the flowing gases so that the collected gases help the sorbent temperature remain in a temperature range in which the process of the present invention is most effective when using amine as the sorbent. Examples of useful methods for mixing flowing gas with air are shown in Figures 25 and 26. In Figure 25, a jet of flowing gas 3031 is injected into the ambient air flow, creating a mixture before being passed to the fan array shown in Figure 22. In Figure 26, a specific design is shown in which the gas flowing through a centrally placed tube 3035 is injected into an air stream that passes through a concentric annular vertical delivery tube, which defines a plurality of nozzles, positioned circumferentially around the central flowing gas inlet. Again, the mixture is passed through fans to mix it again before entering the sorbent. In this case, of course, the fans do not act as exhaust fans, drawing air through the sorbent structure.

Conclusion:

According to the foregoing, using the structure and technology shown in Figures 10A to 10H and Figures 17 to 23, carbon dioxide-laden air is directed through a vertically oriented carbon dioxide capture structure 1000 and 2002 which has an absorbent material capable of adsorbing or binding Carbon dioxide to remove carbon dioxide from the air. Upon completion of carbon capture, the vertically oriented carbon dioxide capture structure is lowered into the regeneration packaging 1014, 2006, where process heat is directed at the carbon dioxide capture structure, separating the carbon dioxide from the sorbent, and regenerating the sorbent. The CO2 capture structure 1000 and 2002 are selectively lifted out of the regeneration packaging to a position in the direction of the CO2-laden airflow, after the structure has cooled to ambient temperature, so that the regenerating sorbent can continue to be used for adsorbing or capturing CO2, from Airflow laden with carbon dioxide. In addition, the present invention may be implemented using the structure and technology shown in Figures 11a and 11b, wherein the flow of porous particles carrying the sorbent is selectively fed into a carbon dioxide removal chamber 1104; The air is directed through the particles in the carbon dioxide capture chamber, so that the carbon dioxide is absorbed or captured by the absorbent material. After CO2 capture is complete, the particles are directed to the CO2 extraction/regeneration chamber 1106, where process heat is used to separate the CO2 from the sorbent, and the sorbent is regenerated by the particles. The regenerated adsorbent particles are then directed back to the particle feed source, so that the regenerated adsorbent particles can be reused to adsorb or capture carbon dioxide from the air.

Furthermore, the principles of the present invention may be followed in a method for CO2 capture, wherein a small amount (by volume) of the flowing gas is added to a flow of CO2-laden air. The concentration of CO2 in the air is greatly increased, compared to the concentration of CO2 in the air flow loaded with unmixed CO2, and the fluid flow is passed through the sorbent structure that traps the CO2 in the air.

Therefore, the principles of the present invention have now been developed from what is described in US Application Serial No. 124864/12 (specifically the embodiment given in Figure 6 of that application) and are described herein. Taking the foregoing disclosure into account, it is believed that it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that there are many other methods for removing carbon dioxide from a fluid, in accordance with the principles herein.