The State of Direct Air Capture Technology

Compared to other new technologies like photovoltaics or fuel cells, direct capture of carbon dioxide from air is still very new.  Nevertheless, significant advances have been made in direct air capture over the last fifteen years and it is time to consider the state and the potential of this concept to be integrated into the portfolio of clean energy technologies.   I will review the technical, economic and policy related challenges of direct air capture.  On the technology side, the talk will consider how it differs from other separation technologies and what solutions have been offered by different groups to overcome these challenges.  It is important to identify pathways for introducing the technology that can start with small applications that are technically less challenging or can afford a higher cost of carbon dioxide that can move to larger applications motivated by clean energy applications like renewable synthetic fuels. This can take on a major role in balancing the anthropogenic carbon cycle by cancelling out concurrent emissions that like those from aviation are difficult to manage or by creating negative emissions that can return the atmosphere to carbon dioxide concentrations of an earlier time.