Enhancement of CO2 Absorption in Water through pH Control and Carbonic Anhydrase - A Technical Assessment

Journal article, 2019

This paper provides an industrial-scale technical assessment of absorption of CO2 in water to react into
bicarbonate (HCO3−), with the goal of storing HCO3− in the oceans as a carbon sequestration technology. A potential
advantage of the process is that it will not require a CO2 transport and storage infrastructure that will be expensive for
small-scale and remote emission sources. Process simulations are utilized to estimate absorber column length and for mass
flow estimations of water and base required for a target capture rate of 90%. The results indicate that the process is
technically feasible under specific conditions, with pH regulation being highly important, although the demand for
base represents a limiting factor. Yet, a potential niche for the process is CO2 capture at smaller plants emitting small amounts of CO2.