SRI International will develop a novel, high-capacity, carbon-based carbon dioxide (CO₂) sorbent with moderate thermal requirements for regeneration.  In the proposed process, CO₂ is absorbed in a bed of carbon sorbent pellets and desorbed in a separate reactor that regenerates the sorbent and cycles it back to the absorber.  The flue gas stream is cooled in a direct contact cooler (DCC) to decrease its temperature to near ambient conditions. The cooled flue gas from the DCC passes through the sorbent contained in a moving bed reactor, where CO₂ is removed by adsorption.  The CO₂-laden sorbent is transported to a second moving bed reactor, where it is indirectly heated by steam coils to desorb the CO₂.  Project objectives are to validate the performance of the carbon-based sorbent concept on a bench-scale system, to perform parametric experiments to determine optimum operating conditions, and to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the technology.   

SRI Sorbent Schematic