(617b) Modeling of Hybridized 3D Printed Modules with Low Pressure Drop Fiber Sorbents for Direct Air Capture

Direct air capture (DAC) plays an important role in alleviating global warming challenge by reducing the influence of greenhouse gases such as CO2. We will describe modeling of a simple and scalable DAC system based on adsorption of CO2 in porous fiber sorbents integrated inside novel 3D printed modular housing systems with internal heating and cooling medium, with fibers are made up with a hybrid matrix of cellulose acetate (CA) infused with poly(ethylenimine) silica sorbent. The hybridization of the fiber sorbent and 3D printed modules takes the advantage of low pressure drop along the channel, high sorbent productivity, easy assembly and manufacturing. The modular contactor component controls air flow and heat/cooling process for rapid thermal-vacuum swing adsorption (RTVSA). We used a model based on detailed mass and heat transfer mechanisms validated under several different experimental operating conditions. This model makes it possible to compare various contactor designs to achieve the goal of scalable, cost-effective DAC. In addition, we also maximize the CO2 productivity with other performance metrics as constraints by utilizing data-driven spatial branch-and-bound optimization algorithms