Acid–base concentration swing for direct air capture of carbon dioxide

Abstract

This work demonstrates the first experimental evidence of the acid–base concentration swing (ABCS) for direct air capture of CO₂. This process is based on the effect that concentrating particular acid–base chemical reactants will strongly acidify solution, through Le Chatelier's principle, and result in outgassing absorbed CO₂. After collecting the outgassed CO₂, diluting the solution will result in a reversal of the acid–base reaction, basifying the solution and allowing for atmospheric CO₂ absorption. The experimental study examines a system that includes sodium cation as the alkalinity carrier, boric acid, and a polyol complexing agent that reversibly reacts with boric acid to strongly acidify solution upon concentration. Though the tested experimental system faces absorption rate and water capacity limitations, the ABCS process described here provides a basis for further process optimization. A generalized theoretical ABCS reaction framework is developed and different reaction orders and conditions are studied mathematically. Higher order reactions yield favorable cycle output results, reaching volumetric cycle capacity above 50 mM for third-order and 80 mM for fourth-order reactions. Optimal equilibrium constants are determined in order to guide alternative chemical searches and synthetic chemistry design targets. There is a substantial energetic benefit for reaction orders above the first, with second- and third-order ABCS cycles exhibiting a thermodynamic minimum work for the concentrating and outgassing steps around 150 kJ per mole of CO₂. A significant advantage of the ABCS is that it can be driven through well-developed and widely-deployed desalination technologies, such as reverse osmosis, with opportunities for energy recovery when recombining the concentrated and diluted streams, and extraction can occur directly from the liquid phase upon vacuum application.