Automotive CO2 Mitigation Via an Onboard Bosch Reactor System

Given the current rate of global greenhouse emissions and its projected upward trend, it is increasingly desirable to capture CO2 emissions from more sources and prevent their escape into the atmosphere. The technical and economic challenges associated with sequestering gaseous CO2 are prohibitive, thus an alternative carbon product is desired with more preferable storage and disposal options. As transportation makes up 26% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, investigating the capture of CO2 in vehicles is a worthwhile endeavour with global implications. Approximately 66% of the emissions from a traditional gasoline vehicle’s lifecycle are due to standard operation of the vehicle, representing the largest source of the vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions and the largest potential for reduction. This study seeks to determine the feasibility of carbon capture and sequestration technologies onboard vehicles through a techno-economic analysis of various implementations of an automotive Bosch reactor system. Given the ample space and operating conditions, such a system is physically feasible and provides a favorable alternative carbon product. Preliminary physics-based results indicate the potential for a 20% reduction of automotive CO2 emissions through the production of solid carbon. Thus this study presents a novel method for mitigating vehicle CO2 emissions.

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