Tag: Direct Air Capture

Peer-reviewed Publications

Moosazadeh et al. (2026): Thermodynamic assessment of a novel liquid direct air capture system integrated with natural gas reforming for synergistic methanol production

Mohammad Moosazadeh, Hamin Kim, Shadfar Davoodi, Wafa Suwaileh, Jinwoo Park, IN: Energy Conversion and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121969

This study encompassed the development and evaluation of an integrated steam methane reforming (SMR)–direct air capture (DAC)–methanol system, wherein reformer-derived heat and gas streams are utilized to intensify DAC regeneration and enhance carbon supply for methanol synthesis. Four configurations, SMR–methanol, sweep gas–assisted SMR–DAC (SG–DAC), thermally coupled SMR–DAC (TC–DAC), and dual-mode SMR–DAC (DM–DAC), were assessed using a coupled thermodynamic and techno-economic framework, with reformer temperature and steam-to-carbon ratio identified as key operating variables.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Anaya et al. (2026): Net-negative emission methanol from direct air capture and water electrolysis: A comprehensive analysis of multiple energy pathways

Karina Anaya, Jubil Joy, Amit Kumar, IN: Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2026.103529

Deep decarbonization requires pathways that remove CO₂ and convert it into products, yet published DAC-electrolysis-methanol studies often assume simplified CO₂/H₂ inputs and rarely compare dispatchable energy supplies under consistent techno-economic and cradle-to-gate greenhouse-gas boundaries. Here, a bottom-up analysis integrates direct air capture (DAC), alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), and CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol, and evaluates three energy-supply configurations: grid or renewable electricity with natural gas process heat (scenario 1); integration of an Allam cycle supplied with electrolytic oxygen from AWE to provide on-site power and additional CO₂ (scenario 2); and on-site electricity and heat from high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (scenario 3). Carbon pricing and uncertainty analysis are performed. Each case includes a 1 Mt-CO₂/y potassium hydroxide (KOH)-calcium (Ca) looping DAC unit, and methanol capacity varies with available CO₂ sources.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Gu & Li (2026): Humid-air competitive adsorption invalidates conventional sorbent screening criteria for direct air capture

Yu Gu and Jia Li, IN: Carbon Capture Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100672

Direct air capture (DAC) of CO₂ using solid sorbents is a key negative-emissions technology, but current systems require 5–10 GJ t⁻¹ of thermal energy for sorbent regeneration, which far exceeds the thermodynamic minimum. High-throughput computational screening of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) offers a route to identifying lower-energy sorbents, yet most screening workflows rely on molecular descriptors evaluated under idealised conditions. These descriptors do not encode the competitive, path-integrated thermodynamics of a full adsorption–desorption cycle under humid air, where co-adsorbed water dominates the energy penalty. Whether explicitly modelling nonlinear competitive CO₂/H₂O adsorption yields fundamentally different material rankings from conventional linear screening remains untested at database scale. Here the authors show, by screening 7906 CoRE-MOF-2019 structures through a proxy temperature-vacuum swing adsorption cycle coupled with binary Langmuir-IAST, that nonlinear competitive adsorption changes DAC screening outcomes: all 50 top-performing sorbents (regeneration energy 92–150 kJ mol⁻¹ CO₂) belong exclusively to the nonlinear regime and would be systematically excluded by a linear Henry-regime model.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Jaafar et al. (2026): Synergistic integration of direct air capture in bioenergy systems

Nor Syuriaty Jaafar, Norhuda Abdul Manaf, Noor Fatina Emelin Nor Fadzil and Nilay Shah, IN: Sustainable Chemical Technologies, https://doi.org/10.69997/sct.135980

The present work aims to demonstrate the synergy achieved through the integration of biomass gasification with a direct air capture (DAC) system to maximize overall CO₂ removal capacity, while simultaneously converting waste into value-added products (hydrogen) and supplying the energy required for DAC operation (BG-H₂P-DAC). The proposed configuration is modeled using Aspen Plus to investigate the synergistic interactions and key performance indicators of the BG-H₂P-DAC system. Parametric analyses are conducted by varying gasification temperature, air inlet flow rate, and amine concentration and flow rate.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Esch et al. (2026): Carbon fabrics for electrified direct air capture: From substrate morphology to module-scale operating trade-offs

Carla Esch, Jacqueline Kieven, Antonia Geiser, Roman Ryapushkin, Wibke Zängle and Matthias Wessling, IN: Chemical Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.179238

Polyethyleneimine (PEI)-impregnated carbon fabrics are structured direct air capture (DAC) sorbents whose electrical conductivity enables resistive temperature swing regeneration. However, how substrate morphology translates intrinsic sorbent properties into module-scale DAC performance under continuous flow remains poorly understood. The authors investigate this using a resistively heated spiral wound module (SWM). Two carbon fabrics, a macroporous non-woven (E20) and a microporous activated carbon cloth (FM10), were characterized.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Wang et al. (2026): Solar concentrated-light driven direct air capture with fast desorption kinetics using amine-modified monolithic composites

Fang Wang, Xuelin Xu, Zhonghai Zhang, Wendi Liu, Jinchi Mu, Jiandong Chen, and Tao Wang, IN: Chemical Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.179584

The practical deployment of direct air capture (DAC) is hindered by insufficient mass and heat transfer, along with high energy consumption during regeneration, which are intrinsic drawbacks of conventional powdered amine adsorbents. To mitigate these bottlenecks, this work constructs a concentrated-light driven DAC system using a monolithic PEI/Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ adsorbents.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Criado et al. (2026): Operating parameters and sorbent properties affecting Ca(OH)₂ carbonation for direct air capture (DAC) applications

Yolanda A. Criado, Carlos Bajo, Loreto Suarez and Roberto García, IN: Chemical Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.179644

Direct Air Capture (DAC) based on Ca(OH)₂ carbonation has emerged as a promising route for atmospheric CO₂ removal. However, the maximum attainable carbonation conversion (XMax), a key parameter governing sorbent utilization and process performance, is strongly influenced by operating conditions and sorbent properties. In this work, XMax was investigated over a wide range of CO₂ concentrations (500–120,000 ppm), relative humidity (10–95%), and temperatures (30–80 °C), using both commercial standard and high-surface-area Ca(OH)₂ materials.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Hofer & Pröll (2026): Revisiting TSA and TVSA for DAC: Operating Windows, Thermodynamic Bounds, and Exergy Efficiency

Gerhard Hofer and Tobias Pröll, IN: Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.6c02452

Direct air capture (DAC) using solid sorbents is increasingly implemented through continuous temperature–vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA), yet the thermodynamic performance of such systems has not been systematically characterized under realistic operating conditions. This study reproduces previously published post-combustion capture and DAC cases using an independent MATLAB implementation of an equilibrium-stage temperature swing adsorption (TSA) model, confirming consistency with the original formulation. The model is then extended to DAC-relevant conditions, including ambient-temperature adsorption and vacuum-enabled regeneration, to evaluate the interdependencies between working capacity, solids circulation, regeneration heat, and blower and vacuum work.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Shen et al. (2026): Proton trap engineered electric swing adsorption for scalable and cost-effective direct air capture

Yao Shen, Kai Pang, Weichen Zhao, Liang Chen, Jingkai Zhao, Jiexu Ye, Beini Zhang, Sujing Li, Wei Li, Zhen Xu, Jing Meng, Xiang Gao and Shihan Zhang, IN: Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75916-7

Direct air capture (DAC) is critical to achieve carbon neutrality, yet current technologies face significant barriers to widespread, cost-effective deployment. Amine-based electric swing adsorption (ESA) offers a promising low-energy, steam-free pathway, but its efficiency is fundamentally limited by an inherent 2:1 amine-to-CO₂ stoichiometric penalty. Here, the authors overcome this bottleneck by engineering a point defect-mediated proton trapping network into ESA sorbents, enabling a 1:1 amine-CO₂ stoichiometry. Their engineered sorbent achieves a CO₂ uptake of 6.57 mmol g−1 from 400 ppm CO₂, a 28.8% improvement over the state-of-the-art sorbents.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Essalhi et al. (2026): Amine-Functionalized Covalent Organic Framework for Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide

Mohamed Essalhi, Rawan A. Al Qahtani, Aasif Helal, Mona S. Otaibi, Ammar H. Alahmed, Zain H. Yamani, Islam M. A. Mekhemer and Mahmoud M. Abdelnaby, IN: Energy & Fuels, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6c00750

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising materials for CO₂ capture due to their tunable porosity and chemical versatility. Herein, the authors report the postsynthetic functionalization of vinylene-linked V-COF-1 with tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA), yielding an amine-appended framework (V-COF-tris) with enhanced CO₂ affinity.

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