DAC

To capture CO₂ directly from air in a cost-effective way

Based on the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, to achieve a net zero emission future, the world needs to remove CO₂ direct from the atmosphere at a large scale.

The Direct Air Capture (DAC) team is a pioneer in using amine-based liquid capture technology for capturing CO₂ directly from the ambient air in an efficient and cost-effective way. This builds on significant knowledge and experience that the group has gained from laboratory research and demonstration of this technology for flue gas treatment over a 15-year period. We started developing this cutting-edge technology for DAC in 2018 as part of the “methane as fuel carrier” project that was co-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

In this project, we explored the suitability and applicability of amine liquid capture technology for DAC. The directions and activities pursued in the project included:

• We first modelled an MEA-based liquid capture technology for DAC as a baseline using Aspen Plus.
• We investigated the suitability of various amino acid salts solutions for DAC through assessment of their robustness and reactivity. The studies included thermal and oxidative degradation assessments and mass transfer measurement using a wetted wall column.

Based on the findings from these studies, we developed an amino acid salt-based DAC technology named the Ambient CO₂ Harvester (ACOHA) using an amino acid salt-based liquid formulation in a commercial cooling tower.

 

 The Ambient CO₂ Harvester ACOHA removes carbon dioxide from the air

 

 

Project Lead