The cost of carbon capture for conversion to industrially valuable products fall to about $40/ton of carbon dioxide (CO₂) at a 90% to 97% capture rate with technology developed by researchers from U.S. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Fluor Corporation and Washington State University. The use of water-lean solvents for C capture is estimated to be 12% to 23% less expensive than conventional aqueous amine technology.

The selected solvent — N-(2-EthoxyEthyl)-3-MorpholinoPropan-1-Amine) — strips out CO₂ from power plant flue gas and converts the gas into methanol. The water-lean solvent contains less than 5% water, reducing the energy required to release the captured CO₂ by boiling. This results in a more efficient, less

On the left of this walk-in fume hood, "smoke" moves through a cylindrical container where it makes contact with a carbon-capturing solvent. That solvent chemically binds to carbon dioxide and, on the right, is converted to methanol. Source: Eric Francavilla/U.S. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory energy intensive process, as documented in the Journal of Cleaner Production. The scheme also deploys platinum catalysts on reducible metal oxides to suppress undesirable nitrogen-methylation of the capture solvent.

As described the journal Advanced Energy Materials, the new system is designed to fit into coal-, gas- or biomass-fired power plants, as well as cement kilns and steel plants.

This is the first known demonstration of integrated low-temperature thermocatalytic capture and conversion of CO₂ to methanol in an economically viable capture solvent. In addition to curbing emissions, the technology could also foster development of other carbon capture technology and establish a market for CO₂-containing materials.