Schlagwort: Direct Air Capture

Peer-reviewed Publications

Arraga et al. (2026): Demonstration of direct air capture of CO₂ using microalgae raceway reactors

R. Arraga, M. Barceló-Villalobos, R. Esteitie, M. Ahaddouch, C. Sánchez-Salinas, F.G. Acién, IN: Journal of CO₂ Utilization, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2026.103376

The continuous increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration underscores the urgent need for scalable and energy-efficient carbon removal technologies. This study demonstrates, for the first time, the implementation of a tailored Direct Air Capture (DAC) concept integrated within large-scale microalgae raceway reactors, enabling direct CO₂ uptake from ambient air without external gas supply. A 600 m² reactor operated continuously with Scenedesmus sp. maintained stable productivity (12 g m⁻² day⁻¹) under extreme carbon limitation (TIC ≈ 20 mg L⁻¹, pH ≈ 10).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Park et al. (2026): Scale-Bridging Solid Adsorbents for Direct Air Capture: Integrating Material Chemistry, Structured Contactors, and Advanced Regeneration Processes

Injun Park, Sieun Kim, Karoline L. Hebisch, Inhwan Park, Minhyung Lee and Dong-Yeun Koh, IN: ChemRxiv, https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.15000500/v1

Direct air capture (DAC) has emerged as an essential, emissions source independent pathway toward global net-zero targets. Compared to solvent-based systems, solid adsorbent-based DAC holds distinct advantages due to its broader material versatility, modular scalability, and streamlined equipment architecture. However, transitioning from laboratory-scale material discovery to commercial deployment requires a holistic, system-level engineering approach. Because intrinsic adsorbent properties dictate the design of scalable structured contactors, the selection of energy-efficient regeneration methods, and the ultimate techno-economic and environmental viability of the process, these interdependent components must be synergistically co-optimized. To address this co-optimization challenge, the authors provide a critical, integrated evaluation of solid adsorbent DAC.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Chen et al. (2026): Direct air capture enabled by low-grade thermal energy via hot water regeneration of a ligand-exchange sorbent

Hao Chen, Xinkai Wu, Haibo Liu, Hang Dong and Arup K. SenGupta, IN: Chemical Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.174640

Direct air capture (DAC) offers a geographically flexible pathway toward negative emissions, yet its large-scale deployment remains constrained by the high energy demand and operational complexity of sorbent regeneration. While substantial effort has focused on lowering regeneration temperatures, most existing DAC systems remain poorly matched to the largest and most underutilized fraction of industrial waste heat: low-grade (<100 °C) liquid heat streams, such as hot water. This mismatch arises because conventional sorbents are primarily designed for gas-phase or dry-state regeneration. Such processes often require vacuum operation, inert sweep gases, or repeated dehydration-rehydration cycles. Here, the authors systematically evaluate a direct liquid-phase DAC regeneration strategy enabled by a hybrid polymeric ligand exchanger (Poly-LigEx-Cu²⁺), specifically designed to operate under hydrothermal conditions at ambient pressure.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Gao et al. (2026): Intensified direct air capture of CO₂ by integrating a tailor-made water-lean absorbent with high-gravity technology

Zexiang Gao, Kerui Li, Wangxin Jian, Hao Qin, Youzhi Liu and Weizhou Jiao, IN: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2026.121972

The acceleration of global industrialization has sharply increased CO₂ emissions, highlighting the urgent need for efficient and energy-saving carbon capture technology. Direct air capture (DAC) has emerged as a pivotal negative-emission strategy for advancing decarbonization within the chemical industry. However, conventional DAC absorption processes are hindered by high solvent regeneration energy, low mass-transfer efficiency, and large equipment size. To address these challenges, an innovative DAC strategy that integrates high-gravity technology with a tailor-made water-lean absorbent is proposed.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Seithümmer et al. (2026): Integrating Direct Air Capture Technology and Plasma Based Calcination for Sustainable Syngas and Concrete – An Experimental Investigation

Valentin Benedikt Seithümmer, Samuel Jaro Kaufmann, Felix Jonathan Brucker, Resul Çağtay Sahin, Kai Peter Birke and Paul Rößner, IN: Advanced Materials Interfaces, https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500992

The persistent reliance of the cement sector on fossil fuels for CaO production and the high energy demand for DAC sorbent regeneration pose a significant barrier to reaching sustainable industrial production. Herein, a novel process concept is presented, establishing an integrated, fully electrified CO₂-loop driven by gliding arc plasma technology.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Fakhraddinfakhriazar et al. (2026): Stability of Adsorbents for Direct Air Capture (DAC): Challenges and Perspectives

Salar Fakhraddinfakhriazar, Cristhian Molina-Fernández and Grégoire Léonard, IN: Energy & Fuels, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c05460

Direct air capture (DAC) technologies, particularly adsorption-based systems, are advancing rapidly as a form of negative emission technologies (NETs). DAC technologies represent a promising engineering approach to addressing diffuse CO₂ emissions and provide several deployment advantages, including flexibility and scalability. However, a critical yet often overlooked challenge of adsorption-based DAC is the limited stability of CO₂ sorbent materials, which undermines sustainability and hinders large-scale deployment. While most research has focused on developing adsorbents with high CO₂ selectivity and capacity, stability remains a crucial criterion, investigated in some studies through multicycle testing and exposure to accelerated degradation environments. This review provides a brief overview of DAC adsorbent types, followed by a detailed analysis of existing studies on the stability of solid sorbents under DAC operating conditions, highlighting key findings and research gaps.

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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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