Unmet Need
The world emits about 43 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year, and this number continues to rise annually. Increased CO2 contributed to the greenhouse effect, and, therefore, global warming, which damages Earth’s climate and causes changes in weather patterns. The sequestration of CO2 is recognized as one of the most promising options for mitigating the increase of CO2 emissions, and many new technologies to allow for CO2 capture are being developed. The most popular capture process is based on chemical absorption in which a chemical absorbent combines with CO2 through acid-base interaction to achieve direct air capture. However, most state-of-the-art processes require heat energy, often achieved through a device driven by fossil energy, which generates additional CO2 emissions, making these processes high cost and low efficiency. Thus, there is a need for a method of CO2 capture that is inexpensive, efficient, and environmental friendly.
Technology Overview
Johns Hopkins inventors have created an innovative electrochemical system which can be implemented in CO2 capture and stores electrical energy simultaneously. The system consists of a membrane reactor which allows for the creation and separation of hydrogen gas and caustic soda. The caustic soda will react with the CO2 source, allowing for the absorption of CO2 and generation of a sodium carbonate solution. The hydrogen can be stored as electricity and when needed, can be used for electrical energy output. This energy output can partially compensate for the energy of the system and also releases a neutralizer for the reaction while the reactor of the system reacts with the sodium carbonate to release CO2 as pure gas. This system is diverse as it can be operated with various types of redox pairs and is based on low-cost general chemicals and room temperature reaction equipment. Thus, it can be easily employed in existing industrial environments and be directly connected to various existing renewable power generation equipment.
Stage of Development
A prototype of this invention has been created and is being tested.
