Carbon Dioxide Extraction from Air: Is It An Option?

Conference · 01 February 1999

OSTI ID:770509

Lackner, Klaus; Ziock, Hans-Joachim; Grimes, Patrick

Controlling the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere without limiting access to fossil energy resources is only possible if carbon dioxide is collected and disposed of away from the atmosphere. While it may be cost-advantageous to collect the carbon dioxide at concentrated sources without ever letting it enter the atmosphere, this approach is not available for the many diffuse sources of carbon dioxide. Similarly, for many older plants a retrofit to collect the carbon dioxide is either impossible or prohibitively expensive. For these cases we investigate the possibility of collecting the carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. We conclude that there are no fundamental obstacles to this approach and that it deserves further investigation. Carbon dioxide extraction directly from atmosphere would allow carbon management without the need for a completely changed infrastructure. In addition it eliminates the need for a complex carbon dioxide transportation infrastructure, thus at least in part offsetting the higher cost of the extraction from air.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 770509
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-99-583
• Resource Type: Conference paper/presentation
• Conference Information: 24th Annual Technical Conference on Coal Utilization and Fuel Systems, Clearwater, FL (US), 03/08/1999--03/11/1999
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
AIR
CARBON
CARBON DIOXIDE
COAL
FUEL SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT