An aluminum device designed and 3D printed by U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers was demonstrated to efficiently capture carbon dioxide from flue gases.

The design eliminates efficiency losses associated with heat production during conventional absorption of carbon using solvents. Excess heat is removed in the new emission control system by inclusion of a heat The 3D-printed device integrates a heat exchanger and mass-exchanging contactor to enhance carbon dioxide capture. Source: Carlos Jones, U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratoryexchanger with a mass-exchanging contactor inside an absorption column consisting of seven commercial stainless-steel packing elements with embedded cooling channels.

Combining a mass exchanger and heat exchanger in a single multifunctional, intensified device controls absorption temperature and improves CO₂ capture efficiency. The prototype demonstrated that it was capable of substantially enhancing carbon dioxide capture with the amine solution, which was chosen because it is highly reactive to CO₂. The device was tested with varying gas flow rate or varying monoethanolamine solvent flow rate, confirming that high capture rates are governed by gas flow rates. The operating conditions evaluated resulted in a peak in capture at 20% of CO₂ concentration, with percent of increase in capture rate ranging from 2.2% to 15.5%.

The researchers will now optimize operating conditions and equipment geometry to further enhance the carbon capture absorption process.