Influence of extreme temperature conditions on CO2 direct air capture using amino-acid solutions

Gyoung Gug Jang; Abishek Kasturi; Jorge Gabitto; Gang Seob Jung; Pimphan Aye Meyer; Diana Stamberga; Nathan Wood; Christina Forrester; Jonathan Willocks; Radu Custelcean; Costas Tsouris

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2025.168278

Influence of extreme temperature conditions on CO₂ direct air capture using amino-acid solutions

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Geological features play a pivotal role in determining the feasibility of deploying CO₂ direct air capture (DAC) technologies, primarily because they influence the availability of cost-effective energy sources, such as natural gas and geothermal energy, and also due to the potential for CO₂ sequestration. Many regions face challenges due to variable weather conditions including seasonal temperature fluctuations, high or low humidity, and sub-ambient temperatures. These extremes can reduce DAC performance or even lead to catastrophic events. Aqueous solvents considered for DAC systems are particularly vulnerable to seasonal variations in colder climates, where the solvent may underperform or freeze. It is therefore essential to investigate the CO₂ capture efficiency of aqueous solvents across a broad range of environmental temperatures, spanning sub-zero to hot conditions (>30 °C). In this study, DAC operation is examined using a high-flux solvent–air crossflow contactor under two major weather scenarios: (i) cold conditions below 0 °C and (ii) hot conditions above 30 °C. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the contactor performance regarding CO₂ removal efficiency, uptake capacity, and reaction kinetics versus temperature when the air velocity through the contactor exceeds 1 m/s. The efficacy of the contactor is systematically investigated using various anti-freeze amino-acid solvent formulations. A mass-transfer mechanistic model is developed to assess the process performance over a wide temperature range and propose scalable design guidelines. Machine learning is also employed to identify key parameters affecting the CO₂ capture efficiency. It is shown that air velocity and temperature are the primary factors influencing CO₂ uptake. Based on performance data obtained under subfreezing temperatures, a technoeconomic analysis is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using aqueous solvents in seasonal cold regions. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into siting considerations for deploying solvent-based DAC, thereby contributing to the advancement of sustainable carbon removal solutions.

Original language	English
Article number	168278
Journal	Chemical Engineering Journal
Volume	523
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.168278
State	Published - Nov 1 2025

Funding

This research was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC under contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The authors are grateful to Jason Zerbe and Ted Parsons of Brentwood for providing structured packing elements for this work. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).

Keywords

Air–liquid contactor
Amino acid solvent
Direct air capture
Sub-ambient CO removal

Access to Document

10.1016/j.cej.2025.168278

Cite this

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title = "Influence of extreme temperature conditions on CO2 direct air capture using amino-acid solutions",

abstract = "Geological features play a pivotal role in determining the feasibility of deploying CO₂ direct air capture (DAC) technologies, primarily because they influence the availability of cost-effective energy sources, such as natural gas and geothermal energy, and also due to the potential for CO₂ sequestration. Many regions face challenges due to variable weather conditions including seasonal temperature fluctuations, high or low humidity, and sub-ambient temperatures. These extremes can reduce DAC performance or even lead to catastrophic events. Aqueous solvents considered for DAC systems are particularly vulnerable to seasonal variations in colder climates, where the solvent may underperform or freeze. It is therefore essential to investigate the CO₂ capture efficiency of aqueous solvents across a broad range of environmental temperatures, spanning sub-zero to hot conditions (>30 °C). In this study, DAC operation is examined using a high-flux solvent–air crossflow contactor under two major weather scenarios: (i) cold conditions below 0 °C and (ii) hot conditions above 30 °C. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the contactor performance regarding CO₂ removal efficiency, uptake capacity, and reaction kinetics versus temperature when the air velocity through the contactor exceeds 1 m/s. The efficacy of the contactor is systematically investigated using various anti-freeze amino-acid solvent formulations. A mass-transfer mechanistic model is developed to assess the process performance over a wide temperature range and propose scalable design guidelines. Machine learning is also employed to identify key parameters affecting the CO₂ capture efficiency. It is shown that air velocity and temperature are the primary factors influencing CO₂ uptake. Based on performance data obtained under subfreezing temperatures, a technoeconomic analysis is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using aqueous solvents in seasonal cold regions. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into siting considerations for deploying solvent-based DAC, thereby contributing to the advancement of sustainable carbon removal solutions.",

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author = "Jang, \{Gyoung Gug\} and Abishek Kasturi and Jorge Gabitto and Jung, \{Gang Seob\} and Meyer, \{Pimphan Aye\} and Diana Stamberga and Nathan Wood and Christina Forrester and Jonathan Willocks and Radu Custelcean and Costas Tsouris",

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doi = "10.1016/j.cej.2025.168278",

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T1 - Influence of extreme temperature conditions on CO2 direct air capture using amino-acid solutions

AU - Jang, Gyoung Gug

AU - Kasturi, Abishek

AU - Gabitto, Jorge

AU - Jung, Gang Seob

AU - Meyer, Pimphan Aye

AU - Stamberga, Diana

AU - Wood, Nathan

AU - Forrester, Christina

AU - Willocks, Jonathan

AU - Custelcean, Radu

AU - Tsouris, Costas

PY - 2025/11/1

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AB - Geological features play a pivotal role in determining the feasibility of deploying CO₂ direct air capture (DAC) technologies, primarily because they influence the availability of cost-effective energy sources, such as natural gas and geothermal energy, and also due to the potential for CO₂ sequestration. Many regions face challenges due to variable weather conditions including seasonal temperature fluctuations, high or low humidity, and sub-ambient temperatures. These extremes can reduce DAC performance or even lead to catastrophic events. Aqueous solvents considered for DAC systems are particularly vulnerable to seasonal variations in colder climates, where the solvent may underperform or freeze. It is therefore essential to investigate the CO₂ capture efficiency of aqueous solvents across a broad range of environmental temperatures, spanning sub-zero to hot conditions (>30 °C). In this study, DAC operation is examined using a high-flux solvent–air crossflow contactor under two major weather scenarios: (i) cold conditions below 0 °C and (ii) hot conditions above 30 °C. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the contactor performance regarding CO₂ removal efficiency, uptake capacity, and reaction kinetics versus temperature when the air velocity through the contactor exceeds 1 m/s. The efficacy of the contactor is systematically investigated using various anti-freeze amino-acid solvent formulations. A mass-transfer mechanistic model is developed to assess the process performance over a wide temperature range and propose scalable design guidelines. Machine learning is also employed to identify key parameters affecting the CO₂ capture efficiency. It is shown that air velocity and temperature are the primary factors influencing CO₂ uptake. Based on performance data obtained under subfreezing temperatures, a technoeconomic analysis is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using aqueous solvents in seasonal cold regions. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into siting considerations for deploying solvent-based DAC, thereby contributing to the advancement of sustainable carbon removal solutions.

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