Unit for passive transfer of CO2 from flue gas or ambient air
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsDaniel T. Sellars, Joel W. Agner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A passive gas exchange transfer apparatus for exchanging carbon dioxide from a flue gas to a water supply is disclosed. The apparatus includes several upper rods and several lower rods to hold a membrane in place. The membrane provides increased surface area for the gas and the water to meet. The upper rods may be the source of the water supply, and the lower rods may be the source of the gas. The upper rods may disperse the water onto one side of the membrane, and the lower rods may disperse the gas onto the other side. The two may therefore meet at the surface created by the membrane as gravity draws the water downward, and convection draws the gas upward.
Claims20
A gas exchange apparatus, comprising:
- an upper liquid inlet, connected to a plurality of water feed rods located in an upper area of an internal chamber of the apparatus;
- a lower gas inlet, connected to a gas feed mechanism located in a lower area of an internal chamber of the apparatus, wherein the gas feed mechanism includes a plurality of gas outlets configured to route gas from the lower gas inlet into the internal chamber of the apparatus;
- a porous membrane separating a top side of the internal chamber of the apparatus from a bottom side of the internal chamber of the apparatus;
- wherein the plurality of water feed rods are located vertically above the gas feed mechanism and above a plurality of lower rods;
- and
- wherein the porous membrane extends over each of the plurality of water feed rods and under each of the plurality of lower rods in an alternating pattern, such that each water feed rod is located on the bottom side of the internal chamber of the apparatus and each lower rod is located on the top side of the internal chamber of the apparatus.
A gas exchange apparatus comprising:
- an upper liquid inlet, connected to a plurality of water feed rods located in an upper area of an internal chamber of the apparatus;
- a lower gas inlet, connected to a plurality of gas feed rods located in a lower area of the internal chamber of the apparatus;
- a porous membrane separating a top side of the internal chamber of the apparatus from a bottom side of the internal chamber of the apparatus;
- a lower liquid outlet, configured to allow a liquid to exit from the lower area of the internal chamber of the apparatus;
- and
- an upper gas outlet, configured to allow a gas to exit from the upper area of the internal chamber of the apparatus;
- wherein
- the porous membrane extends over each of the plurality of water feed rods and under each of the plurality of gas feed rods in an alternating pattern, such that each water feed rod is located on the bottom side of the internal chamber of the apparatus and each gas feed rod is located on the top side of the internal chamber of the apparatus;
- each of the plurality of water feed rods includes a water outlet on an upper side of the water feed rod, the water outlet being configured to disperse a liquid onto an upper surface of the porous membrane;
- and
- each of the plurality of gas feed rods includes a gas outlet on a lower side of the gas feed rod, the gas outlet being configured to disperse a gas onto a lower surface of the porous membrane.
A method of exchanging carbon dioxide from a flue gas to a water supply using a gas exchange apparatus, comprising:
- receiving a flue gas into the gas exchange apparatus through a lower gas inlet;
- receiving a water supply into the gas exchange apparatus through an upper liquid inlet;
- routing the water from the upper liquid inlet to a plurality of water feed rods located in an upper area of an internal chamber of the gas exchange apparatus;
- routing the flue gas from the lower gas inlet to a plurality of gas feed rods located in a lower area of the internal chamber of the gas exchange apparatus;
- dispersing the flue gas from the plurality of gas feed rods onto a lower surface of a porous membrane;
- dispersing the water from the plurality of water feed rods onto an upper surface of the porous membrane;
- and
- wherein the porous membrane extends over each of the plurality of water feed rods and under each of the plurality of gas feed rods in an alternating pattern so as to divide the internal chamber into a top side and a bottom side.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.