My quest to develop 'As Passive as Possible' CO2 capture began in 2015, evolving from a deep study into molecular biology to acetate production via the Wood-Ljungdahl Pathway, ultimately focusing on hydrocarbon synthesis. This deep dive into complex biochemical systems, stress-tested through a custom software simulator, taught me a critical lesson: analysis, true understanding, and quantification are paramount.
The front end for the enzymatic synthesis of hydrocarbons is CO2 capture, and I developed my first DAC model in 2019. A software simulator was designed to explore and quantify models as they were created. My journey into CO2 capture then pivoted between direct air and seawater approaches, a 'ping-ponging' phase that, by late 2021, forced me to conclude that my seawater CO2 capture models would never work at a meaningful scale. This led me to fully commit to Direct Air Capture (DAC) and develop what I believe is a genuinely novel approach.
For this project, I am merely an explorer. I conceive, test, analyze, and iterate. I have no biases about where I am going. I learn by failing to achieve interesting and challenging goals. I refine my understanding through rigorous testing and iteration, embracing each challenge as an opportunity to learn and grow. My journey is the ultimate in simultaneous bottom-up and top-down design.
By the 4th quarter of 2023, I had a good energy analysis for my chemistry and favorable topology. At the same time, I was studying various popular CO2 capture technologies. I began to understand that my CO2 capture chemistry required less energy than the established capture technologies.
It is well established that contemporary CO2 capture technologies are energy-intensive and utilize materials with an affinity for CO2. This affinity is very strong, and a tremendous amount of energy is required to release the CO2 and regenerate the capture materials (solvents, sorbents, etc.).
But my capture chemistry used dramatically less energy, and I had no idea why. I would create funding applications for the NSF, DOE, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Climate Frontier, and other relevant organizations. As part of these applications, I needed to explain what I observed, and I developed a putting (golf) analogy for my Model 1 chemistry.
Exergy Analysis of Putting
Figure 1 – Golf ball, with kinetic exergy, rolling towards the cup.
Putting turns the chemical exergy of our body into kinetic exergy of a golf ball rolling towards the hole. Chemical exergy moves our body as we appropriately twist our torso around our hips and move our arms holding the putter. Body motion (kinetic exergy) becomes putter motion, which strikes the ball. Chemical exergy from our body is now kinetic exergy as the ball rolls towards the cup.
If the stars are aligned and the planets are in the correct position, the golf ball rolls towards the cup and falls in.
Figure 2 – Golf ball at the bottom of the cup without exergy
Carefully consider the thermodynamics of the golf ball falling into the cup. The golf ball, with its kinetic exergy, rolls into the hole and falls to the bottom. It hits the bottom of the cup and perhaps bounces a few times. It reaches an irreversible equilibrium at the bottom of the cup and will remain there until additional exergy is used to lift the ball out of the cup. The kinetic exergy of the golf ball was destroyed when it fell into the cup, converting it into heat.
The golf ball has been captured. With a standard depth of approximately 10 cm, “Regenerating” the ball is straightforward; reach into the cup and pick it up. Concerning CO2 capture, the depth of the cup is analogous to the capture strength of the CO2 capture material. A cup depth of 10 meters represents the CO2 capture strength of Carbon Engineering and Heirloom. A cup depth of 7 meters represents the CO2 capture strength of amines and sorbents.
A smooth, gently rounded cup depth of approximately 2 cm represents the capture strength of my Model 1 capture technology.
Exergy Analysis of Augmented CO2 Capture
Figure 3 – Golf ball exiting cup with augmented spring exergy.
Working with the software simulator and real-world 'Proof-of-Chemistry' efforts, my Models 5 and 6 have refined this insight. Imagine the golf ball, with its kinetic exergy, rolling into the cup. Instead of its exergy being destroyed upon impact, a carefully engineered 'exergy harnessing spring' is present. The falling ball compresses the spring, converting its downward kinetic exergy into stored spring exergy. As the spring releases, it propels the ball upward, but standard thermodynamics dictates the ball will never escape the cup without external input.
This is where the innovation of my latest models truly shines: while the spring is performing this conversion, it simultaneously leverages external exergy to augment the stored spring exergy. This precisely engineered augmentation provides the ball with more upward kinetic exergy than its initial downward motion alone could ever generate. Critically, the added exergy required to fully regenerate the ball outside the cup could be as low as 10% of the exergy needed to simply lift a stationary ball from the bottom. My models do not augment the ball’s exergy, but the spring’s exergy. (Also, imagine a powered trampoline.)
This analogy illustrates the underlying foundation for the development of a universal CO2 capture technology that is both energy-efficient and cost-effective across all CO2 concentrations.
The legacy of organizations developing and supporting CO2 capture technologies (DOE, NSF, many universities, fossil fuel companies, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Climate Frontier, Milkywire, etc.) is increasingly set in stone. They insist on supporting only the familiar technologies that destroy CO2 exergy. There seems to be safety in collective failure.
Reviewing public information, it appears that they have not supported anyone in developing a universal CO2 capture technology. This is a tragedy that future generations will regret. The relentless avoidance of thermodynamic common sense wastes not only financial resources, but the most critical, non-renewable resource of all… Time.