Tag: Direct Air Capture

Peer-reviewed Publications

Bicer et al. (2026): Integrated DAC-HVAC systems for CO₂ capture and sustainable hydrogen production from condensed water

Y Bicer, I Ghiat, Y M Abdullatif, A Banu, T Al-Ansari and A I Amhamed, IN: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1587/1/012019

Carbon dioxide removal is essential to meet net-zero targets and stay within the 1.5 °C climate goal, with Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies playing a critical role in removing both current and historical emissions. In parallel, low/zero-carbon fuels such as green hydrogen play a crucial role in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors and enabling a clean energy transition. This study introduces a novel integration of DAC technology within building Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, designed to recover water from the DAC cycle for sustainable hydrogen production. In the Temperature-Vacuum Swing Adsorption (TVSA) process, water condenses as a byproduct during the desorption phase. This condensed water can be repurposed as a feedstock for green hydrogen production via electrolysis, offering a sustainable water input for proton exchange membrane (PEM). By coupling DAC with hydrogen generation, the system supports both negative emissions and clean fuel production. The HVAC-integrated DAC system reduces energy demand by leveraging the building’s exhaust air stream, which exhibits relatively stable temperature and humidity levels. This integration not only lowers the thermal requirements of the DAC process but also reduces HVAC energy consumption through increased air recirculation. In addition to energy benefits, the system contributes to improved indoor air quality by removing carbon dioxide from indoor environments, where concentrations often exceed 1000 ppm. The system uses a solid sorbent of SBA-15 functionalized with tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) in a TVSA cycle. A thermodynamic analysis was conducted, which was used in the economic analysis to size equipment, estimate their base costs, and quantify operational costs.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Kumar et al. (2026): From air to Jet Fuel: Techno-economic and sustainability analysis of eSAF production using direct air capture and chloralkali electrolysis

Amit Kumar, Arun Kumar Tiwari, Dia Milani, William Kubic and Deóis UaCearnaigh, IN: Energy Conversion and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121212

In recent years, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has gained significant attention due to the increasing environmental and regulatory pressure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the aviation sector. This study evaluates the feasibility of a novel renewable-powered electro synthetic SAF synthesis (eSAF) framework. The proposed framework integrates a modified absorption-based direct air capture (DAC) system with chlor-alkali electrolysis to produce the intermediate syngas to be ultimately used in Fischer-Tropsch (FT) based eSAF production. This paper explores the use of a pH swing, cold capture process in DAC for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from atmospheric air, while the chlor-alkali electrolysis process generates H₂ gas from seawater, enabling the co-production of syngas precursors from renewable feedstocks. The optimisation work reported in this study aims to minimize the cost of hydrogen storage by producing eMethane as an intermediate product via the Sabatier reaction.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Heß et al. (2026): Carbon dioxide capture from air in buildings – Design and techno-economic feasibility of practical systems

Dominik Heß, Michael Rubin, Roland Dittmeyer, IN: Journal of CO₂ Utilization, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2026.103351

Direct Air Capture (DAC) is needed alongside other CO₂ removal methods to ensure that the total amount of CO₂ required is removed from the atmosphere so that global warming can be limited to below 2 °. While large-scale DAC farms are a promising solution, their high CAPEX and OPEX, along with societal concerns, may hinder widespread deployment. This study presents a novel, modular DAC concept designed for integration into heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems of buildings.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Cai et al. (2026): Recent advances in polymeric materials for direct carbon dioxide capture from ambient air

Junxian Cai, Bo Song, Anjun Qin and Ben Zhong Tang, IN: Journal of Materials Chemistry A, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TA08358C

The continuous rise in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration has led to increasingly severe climate problems. Direct air capture (DAC) technology is regarded as a promising “negative emission” approach, which has been attracting considerable attention in recent years. The design of DAC materials that combine high efficiency, long-term stability, and economic feasibility has become a major challenge. This review highlights the recent advances in the synthesis and CO₂ capture performance of polymer-based DAC systems, with particular emphasis on functional polymers, polymer composites, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Liadi et al. (2026): A Comprehensive Review of Direct Air Capture Technologies for Carbon Removal

Kafayat Ololade Liadi, Ifeanyi Simon Opara, Ruth Adesola Elumilade, Habeeb Shittu & Ibukun Olaoluwa, IN: International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies

As global concerns about anthropogenic climate change intensify, the imperative to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions has led to a growing interest in innovative carbon removal strategies. Among these, Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies have emerged as a promising avenue for actively reducing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. This comprehensive review seeks to provide a thorough examination of DAC technologies, encompassing their historical development, technical principles, and diverse methodologies. The review categorizes DAC technologies into chemical absorption methods, adsorption-based approaches, biological processes, and DAC with enhanced weathering, offering an in-depth analysis of each category. Technical assessments delve into the efficiency, scalability, and recent advancements within each DAC method, shedding light on the state-of-the-art developments in this rapidly evolving field. Challenges and opportunities associated with DAC are explored, encompassing technical hurdles, environmental considerations, and the evolving policy and regulatory landscape.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Momeni et al. (2026): Catalytic hybrid solvent regeneration in membrane vacuum processes for direct air capture

Arash Momeni, Hossein Anisi, Rebecca V. McQuillan, Masood S. Alivand, Ali Zavabeti, Saeed Askari, Rui Zhang, Geoffrey W. Stevens & Kathryn A. Mumford, IN: Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69542-6

Direct Air Capture is a promising climate mitigation technology, but its deployment is limited by high energy demand. This study improves the energy efficiency and sustainability of liquid-based Direct Air Capture by integrating catalytic solvent regeneration and hybrid solvents with a low-temperature membrane vacuum regeneration process. Iron-sulfated zirconia catalysts supported on alumina and silica are synthesized and evaluated, with silica exhibiting superior catalytic performance.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Liu et al. (2026): Electrified reversible surface mineralization of CO₂ for direct air capture

Zeyan Liu, Huajie Ze, Bosi Peng, Charles B. Musgrave III, Mohammad K. Shehab, Hyun Seung Jung, Hengzhou Liu, Kent O. Kirlikovali, William A. Goddard III, Omar K. Farha, Ke Xie & Edward H. Sargent, IN: Nature Energy, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-01989-9

Electrified CO₂ capture and release from air offers net-negative emissions, but today’s liquid-carbonate-based systems have a high energy cost (6–10 GJ per ton of CO₂), and organic sorbents are oxygen sensitive. Here the authors report electrified CO₂ surface mineralization/demineralization capture/release, wherein an inorganic capture sorbent, MnO₂, is electrochemically reduced/activated to generate Mn(III), which mineralizes CO₂ to form MnOOCO₂H (operando Raman); the process is reversed under oxidative potential. This approach is built upon Mn redox reaction that resides within the water-stable bracket, offering tunable driving force (kinetics/productivity) with applied potential (energy).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Liu et al. (2026): Electrified reversible surface mineralization of CO₂ for direct air capture

Zeyan Liu, Huajie Ze, Bosi Peng, Charles B. Musgrave III, Mohammad K. Shehab, Hyun Seung Jung, Hengzhou Liu, Kent O. Kirlikovali, William A. Goddard III, Omar K. Farha, Ke Xie and Edward H. Sargent, IN: Nature Energy, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-01989-9

Electrified CO₂ capture and release from air offers net-negative emissions, but today’s liquid-carbonate-based systems have a high energy cost (6–10 GJ per ton of CO₂), and organic sorbents are oxygen sensitive. Here the authors report electrified CO₂ surface mineralization/demineralization capture/release, wherein an inorganic capture sorbent, MnO₂, is electrochemically reduced/activated to generate Mn(III), which mineralizes CO₂ to form MnOOCO₂H (operando Raman); the process is reversed under oxidative potential.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Wu et al. (2026): Direct Air Capture (DAC) and CO₂ Sequestration with Waste Brine Using a Novel Sorbent at Ambient Temperature

Xinkai Wu, Hao Chen, Haibo Liu and Arup K. SenGupta, IN: Carbon Capture Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100584

There is a global consensus that CO₂ capture and sequestration should continue at an accelerated pace to meet the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) recommendation in lowering the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere. In recent years, deployment of direct air capture (DAC) has been on the rise through use of solid sorbents. In this study, the authors present for the first time a new DAC process that eliminates the need for geological storage and thermal desorption.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Bellussi et al. (2026): Scale-Consistent Adsorption Model for Polymer-Based Adsorbents in Direct Air Capture

Francesco Maria Bellussi, Paweł P. Ziemiański, Ilia I. Sadykov, Sandra Galmarini and Florian Kiefer, IN: ChemRxiv, https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.10001665/v1

Energy-efficient and cost-effective Direct Air Capture of CO₂ is considered key for carbon dioxide removal and carbon capture and utilization. However, separating CO₂ from air is inherently challenging due to its low concentration and fluctuating humidity levels. Polymer-based chemisorbents combine good selectivity and capacity and are currently regarded as state-of-the-art benchmark materials. Nevertheless, their complex interactions with water complicate both experimental characterization and predictive modeling. The authors introduce a modeling framework that combines flexibility in contactor geometry and accurate reproduction of the physical phenomena observed for the amine-functionalized resin Lewatit VP OC 1065 under varying humidity conditions

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