System, method, and device for continuous CO2 capture using a CO2 pump membrane

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12544710-B2
Application number	US-202218263691-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2022
Priority date	Feb 1, 2021
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

A continuous CO 2 capture system, method, and device are disclosed. The device includes a CO 2 pump membrane including a moisture-swing material, and a cavity having a first fluid. The CO 2 pump membrane separates the first fluid from a second fluid, the fluids creating a water concentration gradient across the membrane and transport of water through the membrane. The water concentration gradient creates a carbon concentration gradient across the membrane that decreases moving from outside the cavity to inside the cavity. As water is continuously transported from the first fluid to the second fluid through the CO 2 pump membrane because of the water concentration gradient, carbon dioxide is continuously captured from the second fluid by the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane and continuously pumped along the carbon concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane and into the first fluid within the cavity.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A continuous CO 2 capture device, comprising:
a CO 2 pump membrane comprising a moisture-swing material that absorbs CO 2 when dry and releases CO 2 when wet; a cavity comprising a first fluid, the cavity bound and defined by, at least in part, the CO 2 pump membrane, the CO 2 pump membrane separating the first fluid from a second fluid, the first fluid having a first water concentration, the second fluid having a second water concentration that is less than the first water concentration, the difference between the first water concentration and the second water concentration resulting in the transport of water through the CO 2 pump membrane from the first fluid to the second fluid and the formation of a water concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane; wherein the water concentration gradient within the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane creates a carbon concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane that decreases from a second carbon concentration to a first carbon concentration moving from outside the cavity to inside the cavity; and wherein as water is continuously transported from the first fluid to the second fluid through the CO 2 pump membrane because of the water concentration gradient, carbon dioxide is continuously captured from the second fluid by the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane and continuously pumped along the carbon concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane and into the first fluid within the cavity.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first fluid is an aqueous solution.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane is an anion exchange material.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane is a quaternary ammonium-functionalized polymer.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane is a quaternary ammonium-functionalized poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymer.

6 . The device of claim 5 , wherein the moisture-swing material has a copolymerization unit based on diallyl bisphenal A (DABA).

7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein a majority of the cavity is bound by the CO 2 pump membrane.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the second fluid is an atmosphere.

9 . A continuous CO 2 capture system, comprising:
a continuous CO 2 capture device, the device having a CO 2 pump membrane comprising a moisture-swing material that absorbs CO 2 when dry and releases CO 2 when wet, and a cavity comprising a first fluid, the cavity bound and defined by, at least in part, the CO 2 pump membrane, the CO 2 pump membrane separating the first fluid from a second fluid, the first fluid having a first water concentration, the second fluid having a second water concentration that is less than the first water concentration, the difference between the first water concentration and the second water concentration resulting in the transport of water through the CO 2 pump membrane from the first fluid to the second fluid and the formation of a water concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane; and a water input and a product output each in fluidic communication with the cavity of the continuous CO 2 capture device; wherein the water concentration gradient within the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane creates a carbon concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane that decreases from a second carbon concentration to a first carbon concentration moving from outside the cavity to inside the cavity; wherein as water is continuously transported from the first fluid to the second fluid through the CO 2 pump membrane because of the water concentration gradient, carbon dioxide is continuously captured from the second fluid by the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane and continuously pumped along the carbon concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane and into the first fluid within the cavity; wherein the water concentration gradient is maintained by adding replacement fluid comprising water to the cavity via the water input as the first fluid comprising captured CO 2 is extracted from the cavity through the product output as an extracted fluid, forming a product stream.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the first fluid is a gas comprising water vapor.

11 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising a condenser communicatively coupled to the product output, wherein a water content is condensed out of the extracted fluid.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the water content condensed out of the extracted fluid is reintroduced to the cavity through the water input as at least part of the replacement fluid.

13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the first fluid is an aqueous solution, and the product stream is a liquid comprising dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC).

14 . A method for continuous CO 2 capture, comprising:
forming a water concentration gradient across a CO 2 pump membrane by introducing a first fluid having a first water concentration to a cavity, the cavity bound and defined by, at least in part, the CO 2 pump membrane, the CO 2 pump membrane separating the first fluid from a second fluid outside the cavity and having a second water concentration that is less than the first water concentration, the difference between the first water concentration and the second water concentration resulting in the transport of water through the CO 2 pump membrane from the first fluid to the second fluid and the formation of the water concentration gradient, wherein the CO 2 pump membrane comprises a moisture-swing material; continuously capturing CO 2 from the second fluid by maintaining the water concentration gradient within the CO 2 pump membrane, the water concentration gradient within the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane creating a carbon concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane that decreases from a second carbon concentration to a first carbon concentration moving from outside the cavity to inside the cavity, such that as water is continuously transported from the first fluid to the second fluid through the CO 2 pump membrane because of the water concentration gradient, carbon dioxide is continuously captured from the second fluid by the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane and continuously pumped along the carbon concentration gradient across the CO 2 pump membrane and into the first fluid within the cavity.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein maintaining the water concentration gradient comprises increasing the first water concentration by adding a replacement fluid comprising water to the cavity and removing first fluid comprising captured CO 2 from the cavity.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the first fluid is a gas comprising water vapor.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising condensing a water content out of the first fluid removed from the cavity using a condenser.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising reintroducing the water content condensed out of the first fluid removed from the cavity as at least part of the replacement fluid.

19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the moisture-swing material of the CO 2 pump membrane is a quaternary ammonium-functionalized poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymer.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the moisture-swing material has a copolymerization unit based on diallyl

Assignees

• Univ Arizona State

Inventors

• Green Matthew
• Lackner Klaus

Classifications

• Y02C20/40

  of CO2 · CPC title

• B01D2325/42

  Ion-exchange membranes · CPC title

• B01D2315/10

  Cross-flow filtration · CPC title

• B01D2313/28

  Specific concentration chambers · CPC title

• B01D2311/26

  Further operations combined with membrane separation processes · CPC title