DAC-TALES

 

According to current research, compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement will require not only a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions but also negative emissions. Negative emissions refer to the long-term removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere (Carbon Dioxide Removal, CDR). A promising CDR technology is Direct Air Capture and Storage (DACCS) of atmospheric CO₂. First commercial DACCS plants are already in operation. In order to create a transparent and reliable basis for future climate policy, it is important to know the potential, risks, and challenges for the large-scale application of DACCS.

Numerous studies already evaluate DACCS based on technical, environmental, economic, or societal aspects, but these aspects have mostly been considered separately. However, for a large-scale deployment of DACCS, an integrated, transdisciplinary assessment method across multiple scales is needed.

Such an integrated assessment method is developed within DAC-TALES in an interdisciplinary research network. DAC-TALES is part of the CO₂ Removal Synthesis and Transfer Project (CDRSynTra) funded by the BMBF. Within DAC-TALES, the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics investigates both the technological development of adsorption-based Direct Air Capture systems and the ecological and economic aspects of DACCS along the entire value chain.

First, carbon capture from ambient air will be investigated experimentally on a laboratory scale. In parallel, dynamic simulation models of an adsorption-based DAC system will be developed and validated using the experimentally obtained data. The validated models will then be integrated into an energy system model and linked to long-term storage of CO₂. This integrated model of DACCS and energy system forms the basis for a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which evaluates the environmental impacts of the application of DACCS over its entire life cycle. The entire
life cycle includes CO₂ capture, transport, and storage. The ultimate goal of the LCA is to evaluate the ecological potential of the large-scale application of DACCS as a CDR technology.

  Copyright: © BMBF