{"683029":{"#nid":"683029","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study Demonstrates Low-Cost Method to Remove CO\u2082 from Air Using Cold Temperatures, Common Materials","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) have developed a promising approach for removing carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) from the atmosphere to help mitigate global warming.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile promising technologies for direct air capture (DAC) have emerged over the past decade, high capital and energy costs have hindered DAC implementation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, in a new \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/content\/articlepdf\/2025\/EE\/D5EE01473E\u0022\u003Estudy\u003C\/a\u003E published in \u003Cem\u003EEnergy\u0026nbsp;\u0026amp; Environmental Science\u003C\/em\u003E, the research team demonstrated techniques for capturing CO\u2082 more efficiently and affordably using extremely cold air and widely available\u0026nbsp;porous sorbent\u0026nbsp;materials, expanding future deployment opportunities for DAC.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHarnessing Already Available Energy\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team \u2013 including members from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and Jeonbuk National University and\u0026nbsp;Chonnam National University in South Korea \u2013 employed a method combining DAC with the regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a common industrial process that produces extremely cold temperatures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELNG, which is a natural gas cooled into a liquid for shipping, must be warmed back into a gas before use. That warming process often uses seawater as the source of the heat and essentially wastes the low temperature energy embodied in the liquified natural gas.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead, by using the cold energy from LNG to chill the air, Georgia Tech researchers created a superior environment for capturing CO\u2082 using materials known as \u201cphysisorbents,\u201d which are porous solids that soak up gases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost DAC systems in use today employ amine-based materials that chemically bind CO2 from the air, but they offer relatively limited pore space for capture,\u0026nbsp;degrade over time, and require substantial energy to operate effectively.\u0026nbsp;Physisorbents, however, offer longer lifespans and faster CO\u2082 uptake but often struggle in warm, humid conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research study showed that when air is cooled to near-cryogenic temperatures for DAC, almost all of the water vapor condenses out of the air. This enables physisorbents to achieve higher CO\u2082 capture performance without the need for expensive water-removal steps.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is an exciting step forward,\u201d said Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lively.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ERyan Lively\u003C\/a\u003E of ChBE@GT. \u201cWe\u2019re showing that you can capture carbon at low costs using existing infrastructure and safe, low-cost materials.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECost and Energy Savings\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe economic modeling conducted by Lively\u2019s team suggests that integrating this LNG-based approach\u0026nbsp;into DAC could reduce the cost of capturing one metric ton of CO\u2082 to as low as $70, approximately a threefold decrease from current DAC methods, which often exceed $200 per ton.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough simulations and experiments, the team identified Zeolite 13X and CALF-20 as leading physisorbents for this DAC process. Zeolite 13X is an inexpensive and durable\u0026nbsp;desiccant material used in water treatment, while CALF-20 is a metal-organic framework (MOF) known for its stability and CO2\u0026nbsp;capture performance from flue gas, but not from air.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese materials showed strong CO\u2082 adsorption at -78\u00b0C (a representative temperature for the LNG-DAC system) with capacities approximately three times higher than those found in amine materials that operate at ambient conditions. They also released the captured and purified CO\u2082 with low energy input, making them attractive for practical use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBeyond their high CO2 capacities, both\u0026nbsp;physisorbents exhibit critical characteristics such as low desorption enthalpy, cost efficiency, scalability, and long-term stability, all of which are essential for real-world applications,\u201d said lead author Seo-Yul Kim, a postdoctoral researcher in the Lively Lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELeveraging Existing Infrastructure\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study also addresses a key concern for DAC: location. Traditional systems are often best suited for dry, cool environments. But by leveraging existing LNG infrastructure, near-cryogenic DAC could be deployed in temperate and even humid coastal regions, greatly expanding the geographic scope of carbon removal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLNG regasification systems are currently an untapped source of cold energy, with terminals operating at a large scale in coastal areas around the world,\u201d Lively said. \u201cBy harnessing even just a portion of their cold energy,\u0026nbsp;we could potentially capture over 100 million metric tons of CO\u2082 per year by 2050.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs governments and industries face increasing pressure to meet net-zero emissions goals, solutions like LNG-coupled near-cryogenic DAC offer a promising path forward. The next steps for the team include continued refinement of materials and system designs to ensure performance and durability at larger scales.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is an exciting example of how rethinking energy flows in our existing infrastructure can lead to low-cost reductions in carbon footprint,\u201d Lively said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study also demonstrated that an expanded range of materials could be employed for DAC. While only a small subset of materials can be used at ambient temperatures, the number that are viable grows substantially at near-cryogenic temperatures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany physisorbents that were previously dismissed for DAC suddenly become viable when you drop the temperature,\u201d said Professor Matthew Realff, co-author of the study and professor at ChBE@GT. \u201cThis unlocks a whole new design space for carbon capture materials.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECitation: Seo-Yul Kim, Akriti Sarswat, Sunghyun Cho, MinGyu Song, Jinsu Kim,\u0026nbsp;Matthew J. Realff, David S. Sholl, and Ryan P. Lively,\u0026nbsp;\u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/content\/articlepdf\/2025\/EE\/D5EE01473E\u0022\u003ENear-Cryogenic Direct Air Capture using Adsorbents\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d Energy \u0026amp; Environmental Science, 2025.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) have developed a promising approach for removing carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) from the atmosphere to help mitigate global warming.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers demonstrated techniques for capturing CO\u2082 more efficiently and affordably using extremely cold air and widely available porous sorbent materials."}],"uid":"27271","created_gmt":"2025-07-07 19:01:13","changed_gmt":"2025-07-11 13:47:32","author":"Brad Dixon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677349":{"id":"677349","type":"image","title":"LivelyKimDAC.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EPostdoctoral researcher Seo-Yul Kim and Professor Ryan Lively of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1751914948","gmt_created":"2025-07-07 19:02:28","changed":"1751914948","gmt_changed":"2025-07-07 19:02:28","alt":"Seo-Yul Kim and Ryan Lively","file":{"fid":"261241","name":"LivelyKimDAC.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/07\/07\/LivelyKimDAC_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/07\/07\/LivelyKimDAC_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":427776,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/07\/07\/LivelyKimDAC_0.jpg?itok=NA5OYtuJ"}}},"media_ids":["677349"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187252","name":"Direct air capture"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrad Dixon, braddixon@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["braddixon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}