CO
2
Capture by Enzyme-Based Facilitated Transport
2002-01-2267
Carbon dioxide (CO2) control is crucial for crew inhabited space-flight. Existing systems suffer from high consumable usage rates (e.g., LiOH), high mass and/or volume, and/or high energy costs associated with regeneration of CO2 adsorption capacity (e.g., metal oxide). Any new technology must be safe, reliable and have low EMS - small volume, low mass, low rate of energy use, minimal use of consumables, and little need for crew time for operation and maintenance.
Our enzyme catalyzed contained liquid membrane facilitated transport reactor/separator for the selective capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from mixed gas streams satisfies these requirements. The liquid membrane is held in place by hydrophobic microporous polypropylene membranes. This continuous process design is ideally suited to CO2 concentrations ranging from 0.035% to 1% or even higher. The system is stable and can accept feed or sweep gases independent of relative humidity. This study explores the effect of electrodiffusion on CO2 permeance and selectivity.
