University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks

OBrien, Kevin C; Nuber, Dirk; Dietsch, Jason

Content Files
Project Technology Sheet Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks.pdf
20221014 midpoint review meeting Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks.pdf
20220817 Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks.pdf
Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks.pdf
direct air capture Project Landing Page _ netl.doe.gov FE0032100.pdf
20230831 project review meeting Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks.pdf
20231023 project closeout meeting Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/113490

Description

Title
Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks
Author(s)
  • OBrien, Kevin C
  • Nuber, Dirk
  • Dietsch, Jason
Contributor(s)
  • Climeworks
  • Kiewit Engineering Group Inc.
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Gulf Coast Sequestration
  • North Shore Energy LLC
  • SunPower Corporation
  • ORMAT Technologies Inc.
  • Sentinel Peak Resources
Issue Date
2021-10
Keyword(s)
  • Direct air carbon capture
  • Carbon dioxide capture
  • Carbon dioxide utilization
  • CO2 capture
  • CO2 utilization
Date of Ingest
2022-02-23T18:35:39Z
Geographic Coverage
  • Wyoming
  • Louisiana
  • California
Abstract
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will lead a team to develop preliminary designs for large-scale direct air capture (DAC) and storage plants to collect and permanently store carbon dioxide (CO2) at three different facilities located in Wyoming, Louisiana, and California.

The project will utilize DAC technology provided by Climeworks, which captures atmospheric CO2 through a cyclic vacuum-temperature swing adsorption process that utilizes fans to draw air into the plant. A solid amine sorbent adsorbs CO2 from the collected air, then the CO2-depleted air is released back to the atmosphere and the sorbent is regenerated by low-grade heat (approximately 100°C). The captured CO2 is piped underground into a saline aquifer or depleted natural gas reservoir for safe and permanent storage.

This study will examine the effect of various climatic conditions on the DAC system design and overall cost and evaluate the impact of using different low-carbon energy sources (i.e., geothermal, solar, wind, or waste heat). Further, this work will begin to tackle scale-up challenges related to construction, operation, and logistics, as well as gauge the technical and regulatory challenges at each site. The team will prepare a Class IV capital cost and construction estimate and will calculate the volume of CO2 that would provide an economic benefit to storage sites. Techno-economic and life cycle analyses will be performed and the results will feed into a business case assessment for the DAC systems at each host site.

Major partners in the project include Climeworks, Kiewit Engineering Group Inc., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Gulf Coast Sequestration, North Shore Energy LLC, SunPower Corporation, ORMAT Technologies Inc., and Sentinel Peak Resources.

Initial engineering design studies of commercial-scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage-direct air capture (CCUS-DAC) systems that separate, and store or utilize, a minimum of 100,000 tonnes CO2/year from air will enable the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to gain an understanding of system costs and performance, as well as business case options, for existing DAC technologies, informing research and development efforts that will accelerate the deployment of climate-critical DAC systems. Process designs and implementation plans for CCUS-DAC systems tailored to a geographically diverse series of host sites throughout the U.S. will facilitate an understanding of the effect of local/regional ambient conditions on the overall cost of an integrated system.

Related presentation: Direct Air Capture Facility Development in the United States (Webinar, Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy, 2022-Feb-21)
Publisher
U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory
Series/Report Name or Number
Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks
Type of Resource
text
Genre of Resource
other
Language
en
Permalink
  • https://netl.doe.gov/project-information?p=FE0032100
  • http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113490
Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)
U.S. Department of Energy ; DE-FE0032100

Owning Collections

Research Projects -- Illinois Sustainable Technology Center PRIMARY
Completed research projects done by Illinois Sustainable Technology Center staff