Direct Air Capture of CO₂

Direct air capture is a negative emission technology that captures CO2 directly from the air. It is shown to be a promising tool for fighting climate change, yet still a work in progress. Direct Air Capture of CO2 provides an overview of this technology, starting with an overview in Chapter 1 of major climate change events, moving into a comprehensive review of negative emission technologies in Chapter 2, including direct air capture. Chapter 2 covers some of the challenges associated with direct air capture and the feasibility of utilizing such a process for large-scale applications. Chapter 3 presents a literature review of sorbents under investigation for direct air capture. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach for direct air capture are extracted from results published in the literature and are summarized along with areas of ongoing work. Parallel to ongoing research on developing high-performing sorbents for direct air capture, companies and startups have begun testing pilot to commercial scale direct air capture plants. Chapter 4 summarizes the efforts of such institutions. Global CO2 markets under development to construct commercialization pathways for direct air capture, such as enhanced oil recovery, synthetic fuels, cement, greenhouses, and food and beverages, are also reviewed in Chapter 4. The digital primer concludes with the authors’ view on the prospects of direct air capture technology for fighting climate change. Information provided in all chapters is carefully referenced to relevant literature so the reader may dive deeper into the details if interested. The authors hope this digital primer will bring inspiration and ideas to young scientists.