A research team from SINTEF, a Norwegian independent research organization, has developed an innovative technology based on home HVAC systems that makes carbon capture cheaper and more accessible.
According to a SINTEF news release, the Continuous Swing Adsorption Reactor (CSAR) technology captures carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases. Unlike traditional carbon-capture technologies that rely on heat for energy to release carbon dioxide after it's been trapped, CSAR utilizes a vacuum pump, heat pump, and efficient electricity usage to transfer heat before releasing CO2.
Since the pumps need just one electricity source for the system to work, it can be retrofitted to existing plants. In comparison, typical carbon-capture technologies are more complicated to install and result in higher fuel costs.
Plus, using two pumps makes transferring heat more efficient and reduces energy use, helping to bring operational costs down.
Jan Hendrik Cloete, a research scientist at SINTEF, explained that CO2 is first captured in one reactor using a sorbent that binds the gas. Heat is generated in this process and is moved to another reactor where CO2 gets released from the sorbent. The heat pump transfers heat, while the vacuum pump removes carbon dioxide.
The CSAR technology was tested this summer at a waste combustion plant in Norway with remarkable results.
"After 100 hours of operation, we found that we were able to capture the same amount of CO2 from real exhaust gases as we had in our laboratory tests," Cloete said. "This was an important step because it confirmed that the CSAR concept also works at an industrial scale. It also helped to boost confidence in our economic estimates."
"Our studies have shown that the CSAR technology competes very well with other technologies that utilise heat," he continued. "This applies in particular if reasonably priced electricity from renewable sources is available."
The prototype reactor can capture roughly 220 pounds of carbon dioxide daily. However, the combustion plant is working on building a carbon-capture system that will collect over 110,000 tons of carbon annually by 2030. According to the news release, the plant is considering installing CSAR technologies to capture the remaining 165,000 tons of carbon it produces yearly.
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Moving forward, SINTEF aims to scale up the CSAR technology across various industries besides waste combustion plants. It is improving the pilot reactor, which it plans to deploy at a Spain-based cement factory. The CSAR system is part of a broader European project called CAPTUS, which investigates eco-friendly ways to store or repurpose CO2 from energy-hungry industries.
If the technology is made commercially available, it will help reduce pollution and human health issues, such as asthma, associated with breathing in dirty fuels. In addition, as carbon-capture technologies become cheaper and easier to implement, they could help mitigate the effects of our warming world.
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