Developing a tandem electrolysis-gas capture-regeneration prototype for capturing carbon emissions from buildings in municipal settings

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is an important ally in the fight against climate change that can facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. In partnership with the Civic Innovation Lab Society, this project will study the deployment of carbon capture technology in buildings in the City of Burnaby, with a focus on hard-to-decarbonize buildings and assets. This project, informed by the City of Burnaby’s 2030 climate reduction targets, will develop a process that continuously captures building emissions using electrolysis as a means to generate rapid in-situ alkalinity combined with a gas-liquid contactor that will use gas-capturing surfaces to efficiently dissolve CO2. Electrolytes and reagents will be regenerated to evolve pure CO2 for sequestration or use as an economically valuable product. This conceptual process will be validated by batch and continuous pilot demonstrations. If successful, the project will be a first-of-its-kind demonstration of a tangible framework for cities to adopt carbon capture in situ in buildings towards a decarbonized economy using earth-abundant, petrochemical-free materials.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sami Khan

Student:

Partner:

Civic Innovation Lab

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education; Other services (except public administration)

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: