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Engineering redox-active electrochemically mediated carbon dioxide capture systems

Nature Chemical Engineering volume 1, pages 35–44 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

With ever-increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and commitments to limit global temperatures to less than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, the need for versatile, low-cost carbon dioxide capture technologies is paramount. Electrochemically mediated carbon dioxide separation systems promise low energetics, modular scalability and ease of implementation, with direct integration to renewable energy for net-negative carbon dioxide operations. For these systems to be cost-competitive, key factors around their operation, stability and scaling need to be addressed. Energy penalties associated with redox-active species transport, gas transport and bubble formation limit the volumetric productivity and scaling potential due to their cost and footprint. Here we highlight the importance of engineering approaches towards enhancing the performance of redox-active electrochemically mediated carbon dioxide capture systems to enable their widespread implementation.

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Fig. 1: Overview of electrochemically mediated cycles for CO2 capture and the typical molecules employed in the direct cycle.
Fig. 2: Process configurations leveraging the electrochemical reversibility of CO2 sorption with accompanying thermodynamic cycles and ideal work of separation.
Fig. 3: The electrochemically mediated amine regeneration process flow, chemistry and cell energetics.
Fig. 4: Representation of transport processes in various cell configurations.
Fig. 5: CO2 gas generated during cell operation, strategies to reduce or avoid bubbles, and embodiments of scaled electrochemical cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Michael Massen-Hane, Kyle M. Diederichsen & T. Alan Hatton

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  1. Michael Massen-Hane
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  2. Kyle M. Diederichsen
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Contributions

M.M.-H., K.M.D. and T.A.H. contributed to conceptualization, writing of the original draft, and review and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to T. Alan Hatton.

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T.A.H. is a co-founder and Scientific Advisory Board member of Verdox, Inc.

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Nature Chemical Engineering thanks Klaus Lackner and Chang-Ha Lee for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Massen-Hane, M., Diederichsen, K.M. & Hatton, T.A. Engineering redox-active electrochemically mediated carbon dioxide capture systems. Nat Chem Eng 1, 35–44 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-023-00003-3

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