(586c) Carbon Capture and Conversion for Mobile Sources

Although advances have been made in introducing electric vehicles and other low-carbon modes of transport, heavy-duty overland and long-range marine transportation remain challenging to decarbonize due to the inherent difficulties in electrifying these power-hungry sources. Reducing transportation sector emissions requires a combination of approaches including alternative fuels, increased hybridization, and direct carbon capture at the point of use.

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has developed a system designed to capture CO₂ from mobile sources and convert it into value-added products. The Carbon Capture for Generation of Renewable Fuel (COUGAR) system combines a CO₂ adsorber enabling high efficiency CO₂ capture with in-situ fuel production. Thermal integration between unit operations provides heat to regenerate the sorbent, enabling high energy efficiency for the system. Additionally, CO₂ conversion affords the vessel with a valuable platform chemical or a supplemental fuel product rather than cumbersome and inefficient storage of the captured CO₂. The system will initially be developed to address CO₂ capture and conversion from merchant ship exhausts; however, it is anticipated that the system will be amenable to other mobile sources (i.e. rail, trucks) and stationary point sources. PSI produced the CO₂ capture sorbent on the 100 g scale, carried out durability and cycling performance analyses, and conducted breakthrough testing of the sorbents to validate their performance in a dynamic configuration. Additionally, the PSI team synthesized methanol from CO₂ and hydrogen using both a COTS and PSI-produced catalyst. The COUGAR system prototype was developed using process simulation tools to improve the design for scale-up and integration with mobile systems. PSI also carried out a techno-economic and life-cycle analysis of the system to determine the key financial and environmental considerations and areas for improvement. The presentation details the COUGAR system design and modeling efforts, as well as highlights the key findings of the techno-economic and life-cycle analyses.

Acknowledgement of Support and Disclaimer: This material is based upon work supported by U.S. Department of Energy Organization under Contract Number DE-SC0025113. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of U.S. Department of Energy Organization.