Adsorbing and storing material composite article

Abstract

A direct air capture (DAC) device and its control method are disclosed herein. The DAC device includes a plurality of contactor elements aligned with respect to each other to promote uniform drying, having a plurality of intervals therebetween, each contactor element defining a contact volume and each interval defining an interval volume. The DAC device has a total volume defined by the contact volume and the interval volume, and the DAC device is configurable to (a) reduce the total volume of the contactor elements to promote desorption of one or more components of a feed stream and (b) increase the total volume of the contactor elements to promote adsorption of one or more components of the feed stream.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 343,758, filed May 19, 2022, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

[0002] This disclosure relates to sorbent composite articles, methods of forming the same, and methods of using the same for sorption, including sorption for the direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide (CO 2 )

Background Art

[0003] Increases in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels associated with greenhouse gas emissions have been shown to be harmful to the environment. As reported in the Climate.gov article "Climate Change: Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere," the average atmospheric CO 2 level in 2019 was 409.8 ppm, the highest level recorded in the past 800,000 years. The rate of increase of CO 2 in the atmosphere has also been reported to be significantly higher compared to the past few decades.

[0004] To keep climate change within tolerable levels, it is necessary not only to reduce CO 2 emissions to zero in the near future, but also to make CO 2 emissions negative. To achieve negative emissions, there are several possibilities, such as combining power generation by combustion of biomass and CO 2 recovery from combustion exhaust gases, followed by CO 2 sequestration (BECCS) or direct air capture (DAC) of CO 2 .

[0005] Directly capturing CO 2 from the atmosphere (referred to as DAC) is one of several ways to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and has an attractive economic outlook as a non-fossil, location-independent CO 2 source for commodity markets and the production of synthetic fuels. CO from the atmosphere2 Specific advantages of recovery include the following. a) DAC accounts for a majority of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and can address emissions from distributed sources (vehicles, land, sea, air, etc.) that are currently not recoverable economically at the emission site. b) Since DAC can address conventional emissions, it can create truly negative emissions. c) The DAC system does not need to be connected to the emission source, is location-independent, and can be placed at the site of CO 2 treatment or use.

[0006] There is a growing motivation to develop and improve these processes to increase efficiency and minimize the energy required for the process while maximizing the amount of CO removed from the atmosphere. 2 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A direct air capture (DAC) device and its control method are disclosed herein. In one example ("Example 1"), the DAC device includes a plurality of contact element pairs aligned with each other to promote uniform drying, the plurality of contact element pairs having a plurality of spaces therebetween. Thereby, each of the contact element pairs defines a contact volume and each of the spaces defines a space volume. The DAC device has a total volume defined by the contact volume and the space volume, whereby the DAC device can be changed to (a) reduce the total volume of the contact element pairs to promote desorption of one or more components of the feed stream and (b) increase the total volume of the contact element pairs to promote adsorption of one or more components of the feed stream. Due to the uniform drying ability, the DAC device can complete each adsorption or desorption cycle more quickly and efficiently. This is because if some of the contact element pairs are still wet at the start of the next cycle, the efficiency of the DAC device will decrease.

[0008] In addition to Example 1, in another example ("Example 2"), the DAC device includes a plurality of flexible connection elements disposed in a plurality of spaces.

[0009] In addition to Example 2, in another example ("Example 3"), the flexible connection element is a spring element that exerts a reaction force in response to a decrease in total volume in opposite directions.

[0010] In addition to Example 3, in another example ("Example 4"), the spring element includes at least one leaf spring spacer.

[0011] In addition to Example 3, in another example ("Example 5"), the spring element includes at least one coil spring.

[0012] In addition to Example 2, in another example ("Example 6"), the flexible connection element is a hinge element.

[0013] In addition to Example 1, in another example ("Example 7"), each of the contact elements includes a mating surface such that when the DAC device is changed, the mating surfaces of each contact element form a nested configuration with respect to the mating surfaces of adjacent contact elements.

[0014] In addition to Example 7, in another example ("Example 8"), the mating surfaces are defined by a plurality of enlarged portions that protrude from the surface of the contact element such that each of the contact elements is phase-shifted with respect to an adjacent contact element.

[0015] In addition to Example 7, in another example ("Example 9"), the mating surfaces are defined by a plurality of surface features formed on the surface of the contact element such that each of the plurality of surface features of the contact element nests with a corresponding one of the plurality of surface features of an adjacent contact element.

[0016] In addition to Example 9, in another example ("Example 10"), the plurality of surface features includes one or more of pleats, corrugations, or depressions.

[0017] In addition to Example 1, in another example (Example 11), the device further includes a housing in which the contact element is disposed. The housing is changeable between a first configuration having a volume in which the total volume of the DAC device is reduced and a second configuration having an increased volume in which the total volume of the DAC device is greater than the reduced volume.

[0018] In addition to Example 11, in another example (Example 12), the housing includes at least one spacing adjustment element.

[0019] In addition to Example 12, in another example (Example 13), the at least one spacing adjustment element is an adjustable housing wall that can be adjusted to change the total volume of the DAC device within the housing between the reduced volume and the increased volume.

[0020] In addition to Example 12, in another example (Example 14), the at least one spacing adjustment element is a single adjustable separator that divides the internal volume of the housing into (a) a first volume that defines the total volume of a first set of contact elements and (b) a second volume that defines the total volume of a second set of contact elements. Since the first volume and the second volume are inversely related to each other, whereby the separator is adjustable to either (1) increase the first volume and decrease the second volume or (2) decrease the first volume and increase the second volume.

[0021] In addition to Example 11, in another example (Example 15), the housing includes a compressible flexible frame for changing the total volume of the DAC device.

[0022] In addition to Example 11, in another example (Example 16), the housing includes a first housing element and a second housing element that is slidably receivable within the first housing element to reduce the total volume of the DAC device.

[0023] In addition to any one of Examples 1 to 16, in another example (“Example 17”), each of the contact body elements includes a sorbent composite article having (a) an adsorptive configuration arranged such that the sorbent composite article adsorbs one or more components of a supply stream, and (b) a desorptive configuration arranged such that the sorbent composite article removes the one or more components from the sorbent composite article. The sorbent composite article includes a composite of a sorbent and a flexible porous material that promotes deformation between the adsorptive configuration and the desorptive configuration of the sorbent composite article.

[0024] In addition to Example 17, in another example (“Example 18”), the sorbent composite article is flexibly expandable to form the desorptive configuration and flexibly compressible to form the adsorptive configuration.

[0025] In one example (“Example 19”), a system is disclosed that includes a DAC device of any of Examples 1 to 17, a sensor that detects environmental conditions, a force application device that applies a force to change a total volume defined by a contact body volume and a spacer volume, and a controller that receives the environmental conditions detected by the sensor and determines an amount of force applied by the force application device based on the environmental conditions.

[0026] In addition to Example 19, in another example (“Example 20”), the system further includes a spacer device that adjusts the plurality of spacings in response to and proportionally to the force applied by the force application device.

[0027] In addition to Example 19 or 20, in another example (“Example 21”), the environmental conditions include at least one of wind speed, humidity, or a pressure drop between an inlet and an outlet of the DAC device.

[0028] In one example (Example 22), the DAC device includes a housing, a continuous sheet of a sorbent composite article disposed within the housing, where the continuous sheet has a length that can be changed to form at least one rolled portion that facilitates desorption of one or more components of a feed stream and an unrolled portion adjacent to the rolled portion that facilitates adsorption of one or more components of the feed stream, and a plurality of rollers disposed within the housing that contact a plurality of different sections along the length of the continuous sheet to change the continuous sheet and change the respective configurations of the rolled portion and the unrolled portion.

[0029] In addition to Example 22, in another example (Example 23), the housing includes a desorption section that houses the rolled portion of the continuous sheet and an adsorption section that houses the unrolled portion of the continuous sheet.

[0030] In addition to Example 23, in another example (Example 24), the DAC device further includes a heating device that applies heat and vacuum only to the desorption section of the housing.

[0031] In addition to any one of Examples 22 to 24, in another example (Example 25), the continuous sheet can be changed to form two rolled portions and an unrolled portion extending therebetween.

[0032] In addition to any one of Examples 22 to 25, in another example (Example 26), some of the plurality of rollers change a section of the unrolled portion of the continuous sheet to straighten it and form a zigzag configuration with a gap between two adjacent straightened sections of the continuous sheet.

[0033] In one example (Example 27), a method of controlling a DAC device includes operating the DAC device to create a gap between any two of a plurality of contact elements aligned with each other, and promoting uniform drying such that the DAC device receives an air flow. The DAC device promotes adsorption and desorption of one or more components of the air flow, adjusts the plurality of contact elements to align in a first direction of the air flow, and readjusts the plurality of contact elements to align in a second direction of the air flow different from the first direction while maintaining uniform drying of the plurality of contact elements.

[0034] In addition to Example 27, in another example (Example 28), the method further includes providing, by a sensor, a signal indicating a change in the air flow from a first direction to a second direction.

[0035] In addition to Example 27 or 28, in another example (Example 29), the readjustment is performed in real time or near real time.

[0036] In addition to Example 29, in another example (Example 30), the real-time adjustment is performed after adsorption of one or more components of the air flow is completed and before subsequent desorption of one or more components of the post-adsorption air flow is initiated.

[0037] In addition to any one of Examples 27 to 30, in another example (Example 31), the adjustment and readjustment include changing the gap between the plurality of contact elements.

[0038] In addition to Example 31, in another example (Example 32), the DAC device has a total volume that can be reduced by reducing the gap to promote desorption and can be expanded by increasing the gap to promote adsorption.

[0039] The above examples are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting or narrowing the scope of any of the inventive concepts separately provided by the present disclosure. Although multiple examples are disclosed, other embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description that illustrates exemplary examples. Therefore, the drawings and the detailed description are not essentially limiting and should be considered essentially exemplary.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0040] The accompanying drawings are included to further understand the disclosure content, incorporated herein and constituting a part thereof, showing embodiments and serving to explain the principles of the disclosure content together with the description.

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[0059] Definitions and Terms The present disclosure should not be construed in a limiting sense. For example, the terms used in this application should be broadly construed in relation to the meaning given to such terms by those skilled in the art.

[0060] Regarding incorrect terms, the terms "about" and "approximately" can be used interchangeably to refer to measurements that include the recited measurement value and measurements that include measurement values reasonably close to the recited measurement value. A measurement value reasonably close to the recited measurement value deviates from the recited measurement value by a reasonably small amount, as would be understood and readily ascertainable by one of ordinary skill in the relevant art. Such deviations can result from, for example, measurement errors, differences in calibration of measurement and / or manufacturing equipment, human error in reading and / or setting measurement values, small adjustments made to optimize performance and / or structural parameters in view of differences in measurement values related to other components, particular implementation scenarios, inaccurate adjustment and / or operation of an object by a person or machine, and / or the like. If it is determined that one of ordinary skill in the relevant art cannot readily ascertain the value of such reasonably small differences, the terms "about" and "approximately" can be understood to mean plus or minus 10% of the recited value.

[0061] As used herein, the term "fibril" refers to an elongated piece of material, such as a polymer, where the length and width are significantly different from each other. For example, a fibril can resemble a string or a fiber piece where the width (or thickness) is much shorter or smaller than the length.

[0062] As used herein, the term "node" refers to a connection point of at least two fibrils, and the connection can be defined as the location where two fibrils contact each other either permanently or temporarily. In some examples, a node can be used to represent a material of a volume larger than the fibril and the location where a fibril starts or ends without a distinct continuation of the same fibril through the node. In some examples, a node is wider and shorter in length than a fibril.

[0063] As used herein, "nodes" and "fibers" are typically connected or interconnected, but not necessarily so, and can be used, for example, to represent objects of microscopic size. A "microscopic" object has at least one dimension (width, length, or height) that is substantially small such that the object or details of the object are not visible to the naked eye or are difficult to observe without the aid of a microscope (including, but not limited to, a scanning electron microscope or SEM) or any suitable type of magnification device.

[0064] Description of Various Embodiments The present disclosure relates to devices for use in direct air capture (DAC) to adsorb and separate one or more desired substances from a dilute feed stream such as air or from a source stream such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Such DAC devices can also be used in other adsorption methods and applications. These methods include, but are not limited to, the adsorption of substances from various inputs including other gas feed streams (e.g., combustion exhaust) and liquid feed streams (e.g., seawater). The substance to be adsorbed is not limited to CO 2 . Other substances to be adsorbed include, but are not limited to, other gas molecules (e.g., N 2 , CH 4 and CO), liquid molecules, and solutes. In certain embodiments, the input can be dilute and contain the substance to be adsorbed on the order of parts per million (ppm).

[0065] Examples of articles and techniques for DAC include the use of articles that include a substrate such as a monolith on which an adsorptive material can be supported or coated. Variations are established by changing the type of substrate and adsorbent used. However, these previously established articles and methods have limitations in their ability to efficiently cycle between the adsorption and desorption states. There are also limitations with respect to the energy required to execute the method.

[0066] In many cases, swing adsorption is a very energy-consuming process. Whether it is pressure swing, temperature swing or moisture swing, energy is required at many stages of the operation.

[0067] For example, in temperature vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA) for direct air capture (DAC) of CO 2 , the adsorption step may require a fan to pass a large amount of air through an air contact body such as a ceramic monolith or a plate pack having a series of plates spaced adjacent to each other. When it is determined useful for the operator to initiate desorption (usually when the contact body has adsorbed a certain amount of CO 2 ), the fan can be turned off or deactivated to end the adsorption stage.

[0068] When the adsorption stage is completed, the inlet and outlet of the module are closed and a negative pressure seal is provided. Next, a vacuum can be applied to evacuate the air in the module, and steam is applied to raise the temperature to the point where the sorbent releases CO 2 . Next, this CO 2 is pumped out of the module space and further processed to remove moisture. Among the above-mentioned processes, the desorption process requires a significant amount of energy to heat and then cool the module. During desorption, the temperature of the entire volume of the module has to be raised from the ambient temperature (which can be extremely low depending on the geographical location) to a temperature that promotes the removal of CO 2 from the sorbent. In many cases, steam is used for this temperature increase because steam is efficient in heat transfer to the material. The object of the present invention is to increase the efficiency of the DAC system by providing a module with a variable volume. For example, the air contact body or module has one volume in which air can flow at a very low pressure during the adsorption process, thereby enabling CO 2Promote adsorption, have at least a second reduced volume during the desorption process, and save energy by reducing the volume amount that requires a temperature increase. Reducing the volume also reduces the energy required to apply negative pressure, but in some cases, negative pressure can also be a force that causes a volume decrease.

[0069] Similarly, in moisture swing and pressure swing adsorption processes, typically the desorption process consumes the most energy. In moisture swing, energy is used to move moisture to the contact body, and energy is used to dry the contact body after CO 2 is desorbed from the contact body. In pressure swing, energy is used to apply pressure to the sorbent to release CO 2 from it. In both cases, it may be beneficial to provide an air contact body or module that can have a variable volume configuration. Current air contact bodies and modules are insufficient in this regard.

[0070] Figures 1A and 1B show a DAC device 100 according to an example disclosed herein. The DAC device 100 includes a plurality of contact body elements 102 (numbered 1, 2, 3,..., and n), which are sorbent composite articles that can promote the adsorption and desorption of one or more components of a supply stream (not shown). The supply stream can be air passing through the DAC device, and one or more components can include, for example, CO 2 or other gas molecules as described above. The contact body elements 102 are aligned with respect to each other in any suitable configuration to promote uniform drying, that is, so that the contact body elements 102 can dry at approximately the same rate as each other. Advantageously, due to the uniform drying ability, the DAC device 100 can complete each adsorption or desorption cycle more quickly and efficiently. This is because if some of the contact body elements are still wet at the start of the next cycle, the efficiency of the DAC device will decrease.

[0071] There are a plurality of intervals 104 between the contactor elements 102, each contactor element 102 defines a contactor volume, and each interval defines an interval volume. In some examples, the contactor volume (Vcontactor) of a single contactor element can be defined as follows: Vcontactor = SA * T (where SA is the surface area of the contactor element and T is the thickness of the contactor element). The interval volume (Vspacing) of a single interval can be defined as follows in some examples: Vspacing = SA * W (where W is the width of the interval or the distance between two adjacent contactor elements defining the interval). In these calculations, it is assumed that all the contactor elements are identical, thus having the same surface area, and are arranged parallel to each other. The DAC device 100 has a total volume defined as the sum of all the contactor volumes and interval volumes. The DAC device 100 can also be modified such that (a) the total volume is reduced to promote the desorption of one or more components of the feed stream by the contactor elements, and (b) the total volume is increased to promote the adsorption of one or more components of the feed stream by the contactor elements. In some examples, the interval 104 shrinks in response to a force (F) applied to the contactor elements 102 from, for example, an external force application device, as further described herein.

[0072] FIG. 1A shows a configuration of the DAC device 100 where the width (W) of each interval is larger than that of the configuration of FIG. 1B. The wider the width, the greater the total volume and the more it promotes adsorption. Therefore, the configuration of FIG. 1A is called an adsorptive configuration 106 with a reduced volume, and the configuration of FIG. 1B is called a desorptive configuration 108 with an increased volume. In some examples, desorption of the contactor elements 102 can include immersing the contactor elements 102 in a desorption source such as water (or in some examples, alternatively using steam or heat as the desorption source) to desorb, for example, CO 2 To desorb CO, the contactor elements 102 can be immersed in a desorption source such as water (or in some examples, alternatively using steam or heat as the desorption source). In FIG. 1B, the contactor elements 102 are shown partially black and partially white to represent uniform drying. The black portions are wet or contain water (H 2The presence of (O) is indicated, and the white portions indicate dryness. Thus, in the illustrated example, the DAC device 100 promotes uniform drying by arranging each contact element 102 to be substantially perpendicular to each other (or also said to be horizontally aligned with each other), such that water drips downward by gravity from each contact element 102 without moisture migrating to adjacent contact elements. In this way, this configuration not only promotes rapid drying but also enables each contact element 102 to dry at substantially the same rate as the other contact elements 102.

[0073] The contact element 102 can be formed using any suitable material such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), expanded polyethylene (ePE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or other suitable porous materials. For example, the porous material can be a rigid or flexible material such as ceramic, cellulose, or carbon fiber. In some examples, the porous material is a porous polymer. Non-woven materials such as nanofiber, meltblown, spunbond, and porous cast film are understood to be included in various other suitable forms of porous polymers. The contact element 102 can be expanded by stretching the material at a controlled temperature and a controlled stretching rate to fibrillate the material. After expansion, the contact element 102 can include a microstructure of a plurality of nodes and a plurality of fibrils connecting adjacent nodes, and can include pores defined by the fibrils and the nodes. An exemplary microstructure of nodes and fibrils is described in Gore's U.S. Patent No. 3,953,566, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The pores of the contact element 102 can be considered micropores. Such micropores can have a single pore size or a distribution of pore sizes. In certain embodiments, the average pore size can range from 0.1 micron to 100 microns.

[0074] In various embodiments, the contact element 102 may further include, but is not limited to, ion exchange resins (e.g., strong basic anion exchange resins such as Dowex™ Marathon™ A resin available from The Dow Chemical Company), zeolites, activated carbon, alumina, metal organic frameworks, polyethyleneimine (PEI), or other suitable carbon dioxide adsorbing materials, such as desiccants, carbon molecular sieves, carbon adsorbents, graphite, activated alumina, molecular sieves, aluminophosphates, silicoaluminophosphates, zeolite adsorbents, ion exchange zeolites, hydrophilic zeolites, hydrophobic zeolites, modified zeolites, natural zeolites, faujasite, clinoptilolite, mordenite, metal exchanged silicoaluminophosphates, monopolar resins, bipolar resins, aromatic crosslinked polystyrene matrices, brominated aromatic matrices, methacrylic acid ester copolymers, graphite adsorbents, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, nanomaterials, metal salt adsorbents, perchlorates, oxalates, alkaline earth metal particles, ETS, CTS, metal oxides, chemisorbents, amines, organometallic reactants, hydrotalcite, silicalite, zeolite imidazolate frameworks, and metal organic framework (MOF) adsorbing compounds, and any suitable carbon dioxide adsorbing materials including combinations thereof.

[0075] Figures 2A and 2B show an example of a DAC device 100 in which each contact element 102 is connected to at least one other contact element 102 using a plurality of flexible connection elements arranged at a plurality of intervals 104. In some examples, the flexible connection element of this example is a leaf spring spacer 200 that is connected to a frame body 202 similar to a cantilever as shown in Figure 2C and can extend therefrom. The leaf spring spacer 200 is expandable to widen the interval 104 for the DAC device 100 to take an adsorptive configuration 106, and is also compressible to narrow the interval 104 for taking a desorptive configuration 108. In some examples, the flexible connection element is a coil spring 300 as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, and an example of the coil spring 300 is shown in Figure 3C. In either case, the flexible connection element needs to be minimized (minimizing the contribution to the total mass and thermal mass and minimizing the obstruction of the air flow).

[0076] Figures 4A and 4B show an example of a DAC device 100 in which the flexible connection element can be a hinge element 402. Due to the hinge element 402, a non-flexible material (i.e., a rigid material that cannot be bent, for example) can be used as the contact element 102. Further, the DAC device 100 can be at least partially housed within a housing 400. In such an example, the hinge element 402 causes the contact elements 102 to be not parallel to each other, thus making the interval 104 have different configurations. Instead, the contact elements 102 form a zigzag shape, for example, with a narrow interval width closest to the hinge element 402 and a wide interval width farthest from the hinge element 402.

[0077] The housing 400 can be configured such that the spacing between the outer edge of the contact element 102 and the inner surface of the housing 400 is minimized, in which case the internal volume of the housing 400 can be used to define the overall volume of the DAC device 100. In some examples, the housing 400 includes a spacing adjustment element, which in the figures is an adjustable housing wall 404 and is adjustable to change the overall volume of the DAC device within the housing 400 as shown in FIG. 4B. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the DAC device 100 is in the adsorptive configuration 106, the entire internal volume of the housing 400 is occupied by the contact element 102, in which case the adjustable housing wall 404 is the same height as one of the walls of the housing 400. However, when a force F is applied, the adjustable housing wall 404 moves towards the opposite wall, whereby the DAC device 100 assumes the desorptive configuration 108 as shown in FIG. 4B.

[0078] FIGS. 5A-5C show an example of a DAC device 100 in which the contact element 102 is a sheet of any suitable porous polymer as described above and has a plurality of extensions 500 protruding from the surface (or both surfaces if appropriate) of the contact element. In some examples, each of the contact elements 102 can be out of phase with an adjacent contact element 102, which is defined as having a different alignment with respect to the adjacent contact element 102. FIG. 5A shows the contact elements 102 aligned "in phase" with each other, while FIGS. 5B and 5C show the contact elements 102 in an "out-of-phase" alignment with each other.

[0079] For example, in the adsorptive configuration 106 as shown in FIG. 5B, there are two centerlines A-A and B-B with the center of the enlarged portion 500 aligned. For example, the first enlarged portion 500A of the contact element 102 can be aligned with the centerline A-A, and the second enlarged portion 500B of the adjacent contact element 102 can be aligned with the centerline B-B. Due to this misalignment, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the DAC device 100 is compressed into the desorptive configuration 108, the enlarged portions 500A and 500B have minimal mutual interference, enabling a more compact configuration and advantageously reducing the spacing 104 to further promote better desorption. The enlarged portion 500 can take any suitable shape or configuration, including but not limited to a sphere, a polygonal structure, a cylindrical shape, etc. The surface of the enlarged portion 500 and the surface of the contact element 102 can be considered as "mating surfaces". This is because the surface of the enlarged portion 505 is nested within the portion of the adjacent contact element 102, forming a mating fit or nested configuration, thereby reducing the overall volume of the DAC device 100.

[0080] FIGS. 6A and 6B show an example of the DAC device 100 where the contact element 102 is a sheet of any suitable porous material having a plurality of surface features 600 formed on the surface of the contact element 102 as described above, whereby each of the plurality of surface features 600 of the contact element 102 fits receptively or is nested with a corresponding one of the plurality of surface features 600 of the adjacent contact element 102. That is, when transitioning from the adsorptive configuration 106 of FIG. 6A to the desorptive configuration 108 of FIG. 6B, the surface features 600 of the adjacent contact elements 102 can form a coupling with each other, for example, such that the protruding portion of one contact element 102 fits within the recess of another contact element 102. The surface features 600 can include any number or type of features, including but not limited to protrusions, recesses, folds, waveforms, depressions, etc. The surface including the surface features 600 can be considered as a "mating surface" for forming a mating fit or nested configuration with the portion of the adjacent contact element 102, thereby achieving a reduction in the overall volume of the DAC device 100.

[0081] Figures 7A and 7B show an example of a DAC device 100 in which a connection element 700 is used with a contact element 102 whose shape or form changes between an adsorptive configuration 106 and a desorptive configuration 108. The connection element can be formed by an adhesive, stitch, rivet, etc. that attaches adjacent contact elements 102 together. For example, the contact element 102 can form a lattice structure having connection elements 700 corresponding to deployment (to the adsorptive configuration 106) and folding (to the desorptive configuration 108). In this embodiment, the width of the DAC device 100 is greater in the adsorptive configuration 106 than the width of the DAC device 100 in the desorptive configuration 108. As shown, in the adsorptive configuration 106, the contact elements 102 have two different configurations and are interconnected via connection elements 700, and in the desorptive configuration 108, both contact elements 102 can be substantially straightened (or folded) to reduce the overall volume.

[0082] Figures 8A and 8B show an example of the DAC device 100 when viewed from above, where instead of individual contact elements 102, a continuous sheet 800 of a sorbent composite article is implemented, and the continuous sheet 800 is arranged in a "moving belt" configuration. The DAC device 100 includes a housing 400 in which the sheet 800 is disposed. The sheet 800 is made of a flexible material and has a length that can be varied to form at least one rolled portion 804 that promotes desorption of one or more components of the feed stream 808 and an unrolled portion 806 adjacent to the rolled portion that promotes adsorption of one or more components of the feed stream 808.

[0083] The DAC device 100 incorporating the sheet 800 includes both an adsorptive configuration 106 and a desorptive configuration 108 on the sheet 800. That is, the sheet 800 experiences adsorption and desorption simultaneously in its different parts. For example, the DAC device 100 includes a plurality of rollers 802 disposed within the housing 400, and these rollers 802 contact the sheet 800 at a plurality of different sections along the length of the sheet 800 to change the sheet 800 and change the respective configurations of the rolled-up portion 804 and the non-rolled-up portion 806. The housing 400 includes two sections: an adsorption section 400A where adsorption of components from the supply stream 808 takes place, and a desorption section 400B where desorption of components from the supply stream 808 takes place. The sheet 800 can move between these two sections 400A and 400B of the housing 400.

[0084] When a force F is applied to one of the rollers 802 connected to the end of the sheet 800, the roller 802 begins to rotate in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) as shown in FIG. 8A, gathering the sheet 800 further to form a rolled-up portion 804B around the roller 802. These specific rollers 802 to which the force F can be applied can be called "spool" rollers. When this is done, the non-rolled-up portion 806 of the sheet 800 is displaced in the direction "D" as shown. The non-rolled-up portion 806 forms a plurality of straight portions 810 (resembling a zigzag configuration) between two consecutive rollers 802, and adsorption takes place by the interval 104 between two adjacent straight portions 810. In FIG. 8B, as shown, the force F is applied to another spool roller 802 in a second direction opposite to the first direction (e.g., counterclockwise). Thereby, the direction D of the sheet 800 is reversed, and a rolled-up portion 804A different from the spool roller 802 of the other rolled-up portion 804B is formed around the spool roller 802.

[0085] In some examples, to facilitate detachment, the space 812 within the detachment section 400B of the housing 400 can be heated or a vacuum can be applied to the space 812. In some examples, the heat or vacuum can be applied directly to the rolling portions 804A and / or 804B, which can be achieved using a complete drum of the sheet 800 spooled as a spool roller. For example, the drum of the sheet 800 can be a porous drum that can apply vacuum, steam, and heat as appropriate.

[0086] FIG. 8C shows an example of a sheet 800 implemented to form a "complete drum" using the roller 802 as described above. The roller 802 can be a porous drum around which a portion of the sheet 800 is wrapped. Specifically, the sheet 800 has a first porous portion 814 (shown in dotted lines) rolled onto the porous drum 802, and the sheet 800 also has a non-porous portion 816 (shown in thick solid lines) rolled onto the porous portion 814. The inner porous portion 814 is hidden by the outer non-porous portion 816, forming the rolling portion 804. The non-porous portion allows a vacuum to be applied within the porous drum 802. Applying a vacuum or negative pressure desorbs the CO 2Although an example of a method of extraction is shown, any other suitable method can be implemented. The sheet 800 further has a second porous portion 818 (shown in dotted lines) that can extend to the adsorption section 400A of the housing 400. The rolled portion 804 can be exposed to a desorption source 820 such as water, water vapor (steam), and / or heat, which is done, for example, by longitudinally injecting the desorption source 820 through the center of the rolled portion 804 of the sheet 800. The sheet 800 includes a non-porous portion 816 located between the porous portions 814 and 818 when unrolled. In some examples, the portions 814, 816, and 818 are made by adhering two or more different material sheets. In some examples, the portions 814, 816, and 818 are integrated with each other to form a single continuous integral material sheet. For example, the non-porous portion 816 can be made from a polymer such as PTFE, and the porous portions 814 and 818 are made of the same polymer but are expanded such as ePTFE.

[0087] Figures 9A, 9B, 10A, and 10B show examples of a DAC device 100 in which both adsorption and desorption occur simultaneously within the housing 400. That is, the housing 400 includes a single adjustable separator 900 that divides the internal volume of the housing 400 into a first volume 902 that defines the total volume of the first set of contact body elements 102A and a second volume 904 that defines the total volume of the second set of contact body elements 102B. The volumes 902 and 904 of the two sets of contact body elements 102A and 102B are mutually antagonistic, respectively. The separator 900 can be adjusted to facilitate either (a) increasing the first volume 902 and decreasing the second volume 904 or (b) decreasing the first volume 902 and increasing the second volume 904.

[0088] Figures 9A and 10A show the force F applied to move the separator 900 such that the first volume 902 increases and the second volume 904 decreases. Thereby, the first set of contact body elements 102A assumes the adsorptive configuration 106 and the second set of contact body elements 102B assumes the desorptive configuration 108. Alternatively, Figures 9B and 10B show the force F applied to move the separator 900 in the opposite direction to Figures 9A and 10B. Thereby, the first volume 902 decreases while the second volume 904 increases, such that the first set of contact body elements 102A assumes the desorptive configuration 108 and the second set of contact body elements 102B assumes the adsorptive configuration 106. Thus, the DAC device 100 can be operated continuously, for example, setting one set to dry while the other set performs adsorption from the supply stream 808.

[0089] Figures 9A and 9B specifically show the configuration of the contact body elements 102 similar to that shown in Figures 7A and 7B, and Figures 10A and 10B specifically show the configuration of the contact body elements 102 similar to that shown in Figures 3A and 3B, but it should be understood that the contact body elements 102 are not limited to any of these configurations. Indeed, other configurations (or combinations of configurations) of the contact body elements 102 as disclosed herein can be implemented to interact with each other to simultaneously facilitate both adsorption and desorption when appropriate.

[0090] Figures 11A and 11B show an example of the DAC device 100 implementing a housing 400 that is at least partially flexible. For example, the housing 400 can have a flexible frame 1100 that can be compressed to change the overall volume of the DAC device 100. For example, the flexible frame 1100 is shaped like an accordion (or bellows), and the corrugated portions expand along the upper and lower parts of the flexible frame 1100 (and along the sides not visible in the figure) to increase the internal volume, enabling the contact body elements 102 to assume the adsorptive configuration 106, or compress to reduce the internal volume, enabling the contact body elements 102 to assume the desorptive configuration 108.

[0091] In some examples, the flexible frame 1100 can be made from one or more flexible materials (including, but not limited to, elastomeric polymers), one or more rigid materials (including, but not limited to, metals and plastic polymers), or combinations thereof. For example, the corrugated portion of the frame 1100 can be made from a flexible material, and the frame portions adjacent to the two contact elements 102 at both ends of the DAC device 100 can be made from a rigid material. For example, the corrugated portion of the frame 1100 can be made from a rigid material that can be compressed or expanded using hinge elements as disclosed herein. Other variations or combinations of such materials can be used to form the flexible frame 1100.

[0092] Figures 12A and 12B show an example of a DAC device 100 implementing a housing 400 that can change its internal volume in a nested or telescoping manner. That is, the housing 400 includes two elements, a first housing element 1200 and a second housing element 1202. The second housing element 1202 is configured to be slightly smaller than the first housing element 1200, and the second housing element 1202 can be slidably received within the first housing element 1200 to reduce the total volume of the DAC device 100 (causing the contact element 102 to assume a detachable configuration 108), and can slide out of the first housing element 1200 to increase the total volume (causing the contact element 102 to assume an adsorptive configuration 106). The housing elements 1200 and 1202 can be made from one or more rigid materials, and the shape or configuration of the individual elements is maintained in both the adsorptive configuration 106 and the detachable configuration 108.

[0093] Figures 11A, 11B, 12A, and 12B specifically show configurations of the contact element 102 similar to those shown in Figures 2A and 2B, but it should be understood that the contact element 102 is not limited to any of these configurations, and in fact, other configurations (or combinations of configurations) of the contact element 102 as disclosed herein can also be implemented as appropriate.

[0094] As used herein, the DAC device 100 uses a contact element 102 or a continuous sheet 800 made from at least one sorbent composite article, which article can take on (a) an adsorptive configuration 106 in which the sorbent composite article is arranged to adsorb one or more components of the feed stream 808, and (b) a desorptive configuration 108 in which the sorbent composite article is arranged to remove one or more components from the sorbent composite article. In some examples, the sorbent composite article includes a composite of a sorbent and a flexible porous material and can facilitate deformation between the adsorptive configuration 106 and the desorptive configuration 108 of the sorbent composite article. In some examples, the sorbent composite article is flexibly expandable to form the desorptive configuration 108 and flexibly compressible to form the adsorptive configuration 106.

[0095] Figures 13A and 13B show an example of a system 1300 for implementing a DAC device 100 as disclosed herein. In addition to the DAC device 100, the system 1300 includes a sensor 1302 that detects environmental conditions, a force application device 1304 that applies a force to change the total volume defined by the contact volume and the spacer volume, and a controller 1306 that receives the environmental conditions detected by the sensor 1302 and determines the amount of force (i.e., force F) applied by the force application device 1304 based on the environmental conditions. In some examples, the system 1300 can also include an electric fan 1310 for directing air in a particular direction when determined and controlled by the controller 1306. In some applications, the applied force can be pneumatic pressure. In the case of positive pressure, the force application device can be a fan (or wind). In the case of negative pressure, the force application device can be a vacuum pump or a piston that can generate a vacuum.

[0096] The force application device 1304 can apply a force F directly to the contact element 102 (or, in some examples, the continuous sheet 800), or apply the force F to a spacer device or actuator 1308 coupled to the contact element 102 (or the continuous sheet 800) to change the position of the contact element 102. For example, the spacer device or actuator 1308 can be a pantograph-type actuator as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, which also resembles the body portion of a pair of pliers-type extension arms. The hinge elements 402 are rotatably coupled to each end of the X-shaped portion of the actuator 1308 (and the center of the X-shaped portion as shown), and the hinge elements 402 are also attached to the contact element 102.

[0097] When the force F is applied to one of the contact elements 102 or the actuator 1308, the force F acts, for example, by pinching or closing the X-shaped portion or the diamond-shaped portion between two adjacent X-shaped portions. Thus, without using other flexible connection elements such as the leaf spring spacer 200 or the coil spring 300, the actuator 1308 can evenly maintain the spacing 104 between adjacent contact elements 102, or simultaneously and proportionally adjust the spacing 104 in response to the force F applied by the force application device 1304. Also, when the actuator 1308 contracts longitudinally (i.e., when the total volume of the DAC device 100 decreases), the actuator 1308 expands transversely and expands the contact element 102 longitudinally. The actuator 1308 can be made using any suitable rigid material including, but not limited to, metal or a rigid plastic polymer.

[0098] Controller 1306 includes one or more computing devices having a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a processor or processing circuitry, and communication hardware. Controller 1306 can be a single device or a distributed device, and the functions of the controller can be executed by hardware and / or by processing instructions stored in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium. Examples of processors include, but are not limited to, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or microprocessors including firmware. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk storage, electronically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), electronically programmable ROM (EPROM), magnetic disk storage, or other media that can be used to carry or store processing instructions and data structures and that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other processing device.

[0099] FIG. 15 shows a method 1500 of operating the controller 1306 according to some examples. In step 1502, the controller 1306 receives environmental conditions from the sensor 1302 and, in response, in step 1504, the controller 1306 determines the width of the interval 104 of the DAC device 100 based on the sensor input. The sensor 1302 can include any suitable sensor(s) that can detect one or more of, but not limited to, the wind speed surrounding or passing through the DAC device 100, the humidity around or inside the DAC device 100, and / or the pressure drop (ΔP) between the inlet and outlet of the DAC device 100. For example, the controller 1306 can determine to increase the width of the interval 104 when the wind speed is higher than a threshold speed. In some examples, the controller 1306 can determine to change the width of the interval 104 when the humidity is higher than a high threshold humidity level or lower than a low threshold humidity level to achieve an optimal interval width. This interval width can be determined based on the adsorption and desorption characteristics of the contact element 102 used in the DAC device 100. In some examples, the controller 1306 can change the width of the interval 104 within the DAC device 100 to achieve an optimal interval width when the pressure drop ΔP from the inlet to the outlet of the DAC device 100 is higher than a high threshold pressure difference or lower than a low threshold pressure difference, thereby improving the efficiency of the contact element 102 when adsorbing and desorbing one or more components of the supply stream 808. In step 1506, the controller 1306 can control the force application device 1304 based on the determined interval width to achieve the desired interval width.

[0100] Figure 16 shows another method 1600 of operating the controller 1306 according to several examples. In step 1602, the controller 1306 activates the DAC device 100 to create a gap 104 between any two of a plurality of contact elements 102 aligned with each other, facilitating uniform drying for the DAC device 100 to receive an air flow (or feed stream 808). The DAC device 100 facilitates the adsorption and desorption of one or more components of the air flow or feed stream 808. In step 1604, the controller 1306 adjusts the plurality of contact elements 102 to align with a first direction of the air flow or feed stream 808. In step 1606, the controller 1306 readjusts the plurality of contact elements 102 to align with a second direction different from the first direction of the air flow or feed stream 808 while maintaining uniform drying of the plurality of contact elements 102.

[0101] In several examples, due to changes in wind direction or other environmental conditions, etc., the direction of the air flow or feed stream 808 may change over time. Therefore, the readjustment performed in step 1606 provides an opportunity for the contact elements 102 to dry uniformly while accommodating such changes in the environment, enabling all the contact elements 102 to dry at a relatively equal rate with respect to each other, and thus reducing the possibility that some of the contact elements remain wet and adversely affect the performance of other contact elements.

[0102] In some examples, between steps 1604 and 1606, there is an additional step 1608, in which the sensor 1302 provides a signal indicating that the air flow or supply stream 808 has changed from a first direction to a second direction, and in this way, adjustment and readjustment can be performed based on the measurement of the sensor. In some examples, the readjustment of step 1606 can be performed in real time or near real time. That is, the sensor 1302 always provides up-to-date measurement data so that the controller 1306 can change the position of the contact element 102 as soon as (or within a fairly short time after) a change in the environment is detected. In some examples, the readjustment can be performed within 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes or other appropriate ranges or values between them after a change in the environment occurs. In some examples, the sensor 1302 can perform readings or measurements at time intervals of 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes or other appropriate ranges or values between them.

[0103] In some examples, the real-time adjustment of step 1606 can be performed after the adsorption of one or more components of the air flow or supply stream 808 is completed and before the next desorption of one or more components of the air flow or supply stream 808 is started following the adsorption. In this way, the efficiency of the DAC device 100 can be increased continuously without interrupting the adsorption and desorption cycles. As disclosed herein, the adjustment of step 1604 and the readjustment of step 1606 can include changing the spacing 104 between the plurality of contact elements 102. Further, the DAC device 100 can have a total volume that can be reduced (desorption configuration 108) by narrowing the spacing to promote desorption and expanded (adsorption configuration 106) by widening the spacing to promote adsorption, as disclosed herein.

[0104] Advantageously, gas separation by adsorption has many and various applications in industry, such as removing specific components from a gas stream, where the desired product can be the component removed from the stream, the remaining depleted stream, or both. This allows the adsorption process to target both trace and major components of the gas stream. One important gas separation application is the capture of CO 2 from, for example, flue gas, exhaust gas, industrial waste gas, biogas or the atmosphere. The atmosphere can be considered a dilute feed stream of CO 2 . DAC devices as disclosed herein can promote more efficient adsorption and desorption processes by reducing the energy requirements (due to volume reduction), drying the contact element uniformly, and minimizing downtime to facilitate continuous adsorption and desorption.

[0105] Various changes and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments described without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to specific features, the scope of the disclosure includes embodiments with different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the features described. Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure is intended to encompass all alternatives, modifications, and variations within the scope of the claims, as well as all equivalents thereof.

Claims

**Claim 1** A plurality of contact body elements aligned with respect to each other to promote uniform drying, comprising a plurality of contact body elements having a plurality of intervals therebetween, whereby each of the contact body elements defines a contact body volume and each of the intervals defines an interval volume, a direct air capture (DAC) device, wherein the DAC device has a total volume defined by the contact body volume and the interval volume, whereby the DAC device is (a) capable of reducing the total volume of the contact body elements to promote desorption of one or more components of a feed stream and (b) capable of increasing the total volume of the contact body elements to promote adsorption of one or more components of the feed stream, a direct air capture (DAC) device. **Claim 2** The DAC device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of flexible connection elements disposed in the plurality of intervals. **Claim 3** The flexible connection elements include one or more hinge elements and spring elements that exert a reaction force in response to a decrease in the total volume in opposite directions, and optionally, the spring elements include one or more of leaf spring spacers and coil springs, the DAC device according to claim 2. **Claim 4** Each of the contact body elements includes a mating surface such that when the DAC device is changed, the mating surface of each of the contact body elements forms a nested configuration with respect to the mating surface of an adjacent contact body element, the DAC device according to claim 1. **Claim 5** The mating surface is defined by a plurality of enlarged portions protruding from the surface of the contact body element such that each of the contact body elements is out of phase with respect to an adjacent contact body element, or the mating surface is defined by a plurality of surface features formed on the surface of the contact body element such that each of the plurality of surface features of the contact body element nests with a corresponding one of the plurality of surface features of an adjacent contact body element, and optionally, the plurality of surface features include one or more of pleats, corrugations or depressions, the DAC device according to claim 4. **Claim 6** Further comprising a housing in which the contact body elements are disposed. The housing is changeable between a first configuration having a volume in which the total volume of the DAC device is reduced and a second configuration having an increased volume in which the total volume of the DAC device is greater than the reduced volume, the DAC device according to claim 1. **Claim 7** The DAC device according to claim 6, wherein the housing includes at least one spacing adjustment element.

8. The DAC device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one spacing adjustment element is an adjustable housing wall that is adjustable to change the total volume of the DAC device within the housing between the reduced volume and the increased volume.

9. The at least one spacing adjustment element divides the internal volume of the housing into a first volume that defines the total volume of the first set of the contacting elements and a second volume that defines the total volume of the second set of the contacting elements, and is a single adjustable separator, wherein the first volume and the second volume are in an inverse relationship with each other such that the separator is adjustable to facilitate increasing the first volume and decreasing the second volume, or facilitate decreasing the first volume and increasing the second volume. The DAC device according to claim 7.

10. The housing of the DAC device according to claim 7 includes a compressible flexible frame that is adjustable to change the total volume of the DAC device, or a first housing element and a second housing element that is slidably receivable within the first housing element to decrease the total volume of the DAC device.

11. Each of the contacting elements includes a sorbent composite article, and the sorbent composite article (a) has an adsorptive configuration arranged such that the sorbent composite article adsorbs one or more components of a supply stream, and (b) has a desorptive configuration arranged such that the sorbent composite article removes one or more components from the sorbent composite article. The sorbent composite article includes a composite of a sorbent and a flexible porous material, promotes deformation between the adsorptive configuration and the desorptive configuration of the sorbent composite article, and optionally, the sorbent composite article is flexibly expandable to form the desorptive configuration and flexibly compressible to form the adsorptive configuration. The DAC device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A DAC device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, a sensor configured to detect environmental conditions, a force application device configured to apply a force to change the total volume defined by the contacting element volume and the spacing volume, and A controller configured to receive environmental conditions detected by the sensor and determine an amount of force applied by a force application device based on the environmental conditions, A system including the same. **Claim 13** The system according to claim 12, further comprising a spacing device configured to adjust a plurality of intervals in response to and proportionally simultaneously in response to the force applied by the force application device. **Claim 14** The system according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the environmental conditions include at least one of wind speed, humidity, or a pressure drop between an inlet and an outlet of a DAC device. **Claim 15** A housing, A continuous sheet of a sorbent composite article disposed within the housing, wherein the continuous sheet has a length that can be changed to form at least one rolled portion that facilitates desorption of one or more components of a feed stream and an unrolled portion adjacent to the rolled portion that facilitates adsorption of one or more components of the feed stream, and, A plurality of rollers disposed within the housing and contacting the continuous sheet along a length thereof, thereby configuring the continuous sheet to change the respective configurations of the rolled portion and the unrolled portion. A direct air capture (DAC) device including the same. **Claim 16** The DAC device according to claim 15, wherein the housing includes a desorption section that houses the rolled portion of the continuous sheet and an adsorption section that houses the unrolled portion of the continuous sheet, and optionally, the DAC device further includes a heating device configured to apply heat and vacuum only to the desorption section of the housing. **Claim 17** The DAC device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the continuous sheet can be changed to form two rolled portions and an unrolled portion extending therebetween. **Claim 18** **Claim 19** A method of controlling a direct air capture (DAC) device, comprising: A method of controlling a direct air capture (DAC) device, Operating the DAC device to create a spacing between any two of a plurality of contact elements aligned with each other to promote uniform drying for the DAC device to receive an air flow, wherein the DAC device is configured to promote adsorption and desorption of one or more components of the air flow. Adjusting a plurality of contact elements to align with a first direction of the air flow, and While maintaining uniform drying of the plurality of contact elements, readjusting the plurality of contact elements to align with a second direction of the air flow different from the first direction. A method comprising.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising providing, by a sensor, a signal indicating a change in the air flow from the first direction to the second direction.

21. The readjustment is performed in real time or substantially in real time. Optionally, the real-time adjustment is performed after completion of adsorption of one or more components of the air flow and before starting subsequent desorption of one or more components of the air flow after adsorption. The method according to claim 19 or 20.

22. The adjustment and readjustment include changing the spacing between a plurality of contact elements. Optionally, the DAC device has a total volume that can be reduced by decreasing the spacing to promote desorption and can be expanded by increasing the spacing to promote adsorption. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21.

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