C. Charalambous, E. Moubarak, J. Schilling, E. Sanchez Fernandez, J.-Y. Wang, L. Herraiz, F. Mcilwaine, Shing Bo Peh, Matthew Garvin, K. M. Jablonka, S. M. Moosavi, J. Van Herck, Aysu Yurdusen Ozturk, Alireza Pourghaderi, A.-Y. Song, G. Mouchaham, C. Serre, Jeffrey A. Reimer, A. Bardow, B. Smit, and S. Garcia, A holistic platform for accelerating sorbent- based carbon capture Nature (2024) doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07683-8
Abstract: Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions urgently requires the large-scale deployment of carbon-capture technologies. These technologies must separate CO2 from various sources and deliver it to different sinks. The quest for optimal solutions for specific source–sink pairs is a complex, multi-objective challenge involving multiple stakeholders and depends on social, economic and regional contexts. Currently, research follows a sequential approach: chemists focus on materials design and engineers on optimizing processes which are then operated at a scale that impacts the economy and the environment. Assessing these impacts, such as the greenhouse gas emissions over the plant’s lifetime, is typically one of the final steps. Here we introduce the PrISMa (Process-Informed design of tailor-made Sorbent Materials) platform, which integrates materials, process design, techno-economics and life-cycle assessment. We compare more than 60 case studies capturing CO2 from various sources in 5 global regions using different technologies. The platform simultaneously informs various stakeholders about the cost-effectiveness of technologies, process configurations and locations, reveals the molecular characteristics of the top-performing sorbents, and provides insights on environmental impacts, co-benefits and trade-offs. By uniting stakeholders at an early research stage, PrISMa accelerates carbon-capture technology development during this critical period as we aim for a net-zero world.