Removal of carbon dioxide from air
OwnerAllen B. Wright, Klaus S. Lackner +1inventors
InventorsAllen B. Wright, Klaus S. Lackner, Eddy J. Peters
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air/liquid exchanger comprising an open-cell foam 102 supporting a liquid sorbent. The exchanger may be used for removing trace gaseous components from the air.
Claims54
A device for absorbing or adding gaseous components from or to a gas stream, which comprises one or more foam elements made from open cell foams wettable by a liquid sorbent, where the foam elements include open passageways and/or a plurality of foam elements are arranged spaced from one another to form open passageways for gas to flow through or around, whereupon the liquid sorbent on the foam may interact with the gas to either absorb gaseous components or emit volatile components into the gas stream as the gas stream is passed through said passageways.
The method for capturing carbon dioxide from air, which comprises providing an open pore foam material, wetted with a sorbent, and passing an air stream in contact with wetted areas of said foam.
27-60. (canceled)
Apparatus for enhancing contact between a trace gas in a gas stream and a liquid or solid sorbent which comprises an open and/or reticulated cell foam having flow channels that are large relative to the pore size for guiding the gas stream along low resistance pathways through the foam and where the open cell foam is filled predominantly with gas and where at least some of the gas volumes inside the foam are interconnected with each other and are connected to the gas flow in the channels, and a sorbent for the selected gas either coating the foam or forming liquid droplets caught inside the foam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.