Waste Building Material Countercurrent Reactor for Low-Energy CO2 Binding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for capturing and storing carbon dioxide from cement production are energy-intensive and create new emission sources, lacking a safe and permanent solution.
Innovation Solution
A carbon dioxide separation system using a countercurrent reactor design for processing old building materials, which minimizes energy requirements by avoiding thermal activation and utilizing gravity-driven solids transport and countercurrent gas flow to enhance reaction efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional carbonate looping process is used to capture and store carbon dioxide, then carbon dioxide separation is achieved, but energy-intensive burning, compression, transport and injection create new emission sources and increase the amount of carbon dioxide to be stored
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the energy-intensive steps (burning, compression, transport, injection) from the conventional carbonate looping process, retaining only the essential carbon dioxide capture function while replacing the storage mechanism with direct binding to old building materials, thereby removing the source of new emissions
Solution Approach 2:
The old building materials serve themselves by directly binding and storing carbon dioxide without requiring external energy input for processing, transforming the waste material into an active carbon dioxide sink that performs the storage function autonomously
2Productivity
If thermal activation is applied to old building materials to enhance carbon dioxide binding, then reaction activity increases, but additional energy input and potential new emissions are created
Solution Approach 1:
The old building materials naturally bind carbon dioxide through their inherent chemical properties without requiring external thermal activation, allowing the material to serve itself and eliminating the need for energy-intensive heating processes
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operational parameters from high-temperature thermal activation to ambient or mild conditions, utilizing the natural reactivity of old building materials to bind carbon dioxide effectively without additional energy input
3Loss of substance
If old concrete is recycled to produce new cement, then resource conservation is achieved, but sand and set cement are mixed and bonded together making separation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the valuable old cement block from the waste concrete by utilizing its carbon dioxide binding capability directly, eliminating the need to separate sand from cement and allowing the use of entire concrete structures as carbon dioxide sinks
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the previously problematic mixed waste concrete into a beneficial carbon dioxide binding material, where the bonded sand and cement that made separation difficult now work together as an effective carbon dioxide sink
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively binds carbon dioxide without additional energy input, ensuring safe and permanent storage, reducing the risk of new emissions and enhancing reaction efficiency through optimized moisture control and prolonged residence time.
Implementation Method 1
The humidification device is connected to the conversion device for transferring moistened waste material
Implementation Method 2
The chemical conversion between the waste material and the carbon dioxide takes place either in a sludge reactor, a fluidized-bed reactor, a riser reactor, or a mixer
Implementation Method 3
The solids stream thus flows from the comminution device via the humidification device to the conversion device
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a carbon dioxide separation system, the carbon dioxide separation system having a waste building material feed, a comminuting device, a humidifying device (55), and a conversion device (60), the waste building material feed being connected to the comminuting device in order to transfer waste building material, the comminuting device being connected to the humidifying device (55) in order to transfer comminuted waste building material, the humidifying device (55) being connected to the conversion device (60) in order to transfer humidified waste building material, characterised in that the conversion device (60) is a countercurrent reactor, the conversion device (60) having a gas feed (63) at the bottom for the gas to be cleaned, the conversion device (60) having a solid material feed (61) at the top, the solid material feed (61) being connected to the humidifying device (55) in order to transfer humidified waste building material, and the conversion device (60) having a solid material outlet (62) at the bottom.