Redesigning Direct Air Capture using Renewable Energy

Authors

  • Abhar Bhattarai
  • Bivek Baral
  • Malesh Shah

Keywords:

– climate change, direct air capture (DAC), carbon dioxide

Abstract

With the increasing global threat of climate change, the world is very seriously looking into rapid solutions to the problem. Among the major identified solutions—increase in energy efficiency, development of renewables and the development of carbon capture and storage/utilization technologies, the case of Direct Air Capture, is relatively new and needs much research. Being a technology that’s still in its early stage, the cost of this technology is still very high but given the urgency of climate change, this needs to be corrected and brought down to easily deployable levels. Thus, this research looks to explore simple solutions to decrease the running cost of Direct Air Capture by using renewable energy. Using the reference as the Direct Air Capture plant of Carbon Engineering, this research proposes the replacement of the contactor fans and the calciner (the most energy intensive parts of the process) with a solar updraft tower and a solar power tower respectively, to show that ideally, 0.219 GJ energy could be saved in the air contactors, and a maximum value of 4.05 GJ energy could be saved in the calciner, thus leading to an economically much viable process for Direct Air Capture.

Author Biographies

Abhar Bhattarai

Abhar Bhattarai is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in Energy Technology from
Kathmandu University. He is currently working as a Management Trainee in the Supply Chain department in Unilever Nepal Limited. He has authored 2 papers on climate change, that were presented in two
International conferences, he has completed more than 4 academic projects in the field of renewable
energy, 1 project in industrial energy efficiency, and gained some vital experience through field work.

Bivek Baral

Dr. Bivek Baral is a professor with over 20 years of teaching experience in his bag, with his major subjects
of expertise being subjects like Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics. With more than 20 publications in
reputed journals and many more presented in reputed conferences, his expertise remains one of the most
valuable in Nepal. He is currently involved in research of energy efficient buildings in Nepal.

Malesh Shah

Malesh Shah is a lecturer in Kathmandu University with over 10 years of experience in teaching. He is a
Mechanical Engineer with a postgraduate in Rural Development. His expertise in renewable energy and
rural development is valuable to all his students. His activism in encouraging sustainable energy and his
enthusiasm in the field of climate change solution has helped in creating a favorable environment in
Kathmandu University, and thus helping anyone wishing to work in the field

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Published

03-11-2021

How to Cite

Bhattarai, A., Baral, B. ., & Shah, M. . (2021). Redesigning Direct Air Capture using Renewable Energy. Bhutan Journal of Research and Development, 9(1). Retrieved from https://bjrd.rub.edu.bt/index.php/bjrd/article/view/73