Tanay N's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: Optimizing Carbon Dioxide Removal: Enhancing Direct Air Capture Through Sorbent Selection And Home Implementation. BASIS Advisor: Brittany Holtzman Internship Location: Center for Negative Carbon Emissions at ASU Onsite Mentor: Matthew Ryan, Project Coordinator Research, Center for Negative Carbon Emissions, ASU

Project Abstract

My research will be centered around analyzing the most efficient system for Direct Air Capture. Direct Air Capture (DAC) is the process in which air is pulled from the atmosphere and Carbon Dioxide is extracted from that air. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations. Thus, this research is evermore significant in response to the evident climate catastrophes regarding wildfires and global warming. DAC systems include substances called ""sorbents.” Sorbents are what the CO2 adheres/dissolves into. After the CO2 has stuck to the sorbent, we have to isolate the CO2 for storage; this process is called ""regeneration."" There are two popular techniques used: Moisture-Swing (MS), which uses changes in humidity, and Thermal-Swing (TS), which employs changes in temperature. I will test a variety of sorbents in relation to both MS and TS technologies, resulting in the discovery of the most optimized DAC system. I will be working with the Green Research Group, specifically with Dr. Matthew Green, at Arizona State University. I hope that my findings can serve as advice as to which DAC systems to build and implement at a commercial scale. In addition to my laboratory work, I also plan to build a low-cost, at-home DAC unit. If the creation of this at-home unit is successful, I hope that it will instill environmental stewardship in the daily consumer by displaying that everyone can take part in sustainable technologies.