(577e) Virtual Experimentation Modelling Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide

The use of interactive visualizations to convey complex concepts offers multiple advantages. First, students engage in active learning of the material, which leads to greater concept retention than with the traditional classroom. Second, students can learn at “real time” the effect of changes to parameters, thereby understanding the fundamental concepts via inquiry that is facilitated by an instructor; that is, such modules serve as hands-on “computational” experiments. Third, since these simulations are easier to perform than experiments, one can literally run hundreds of settings to relate inputs and parameters of a problem with its output through real time visualization.

We have implemented numerous data-driven models demonstrating our approach. Our current project models direct air capture of carbon dioxide via adsorption in a packed bed. Fundamental and applied relationships from reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and mass transfer inform the model.

This paper will introduce a model for the direct air capture of carbon dioxide, outline the relationships informing the (virtual) experiment, demonstrate the model, and offer supporting materials for classroom implementation.