Licensing Opportunity: Catalytic Regeneration of Amino Acid

Invention Reference Number: 202405582 Regeneration of solvents used for carbon dioxide capture requires high temperature and high energy, which is a roadblock to commercialization and large-scale deployment of absorptive carbon capture plants. This technology decreases solvent regeneration energy and temperature with the use of a catalyst. It incorporates ways of introducing catalysts into traditional packing elements which will enable their usage directly into conventional regeneration columns.

Description A major obstacle to solvent-based carbon capture is the amount of energy required for solvent regeneration, which could consume up to 70% of the total operating cost. This invention describes an energy-efficient carbon dioxide regeneration process for amino acid-based solvents used in carbon dioxide direct air capture (DAC) based on a titanium dioxide catalyst for regeneration of aqueous potassium sarcosinate (K-sar) solvent.

K-sar is an environmentally friendly amino acid-based solvent that provides fast absorption and high capacity for carbon dioxide. The regeneration temperature can be decreased from the usual 120°C-140°C requirement to less than a 100°C when a catalyst is used. The TiO2 catalyst is thermally stable and when used with the K-sar solvent it can increase carbon dioxide removal by up to 128 percent.

Furthermore, this technology increases the carbon capture rate and decreases the energy required for regeneration columns by up to 50 percent, which significantly reduces the carbon capture cost. Benefits Reduces solvent regeneration energy Increases overall carbon dioxide capture rates Decreases costs Applications and Industries Carbon capture plants Contact To learn more about this technology, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call 865-574-1051.