Prototype Demonstration of the Advanced CO ₂ Removal and Reduction System 2005-01-2862

TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) is developing a simple system that provides an effective way of interfacing the carbondioxide (CO₂) removal and reduction functions. The system uses a chemical absorbent and a Sabatier catalyst combination to remove the CO₂ and water vapor (H₂O) produced by metabolic processes from cabin air and subsequently reduce the CO₂ to methane and water. The system has the potential to weigh less than the Four Bed Molecular Sieve and CO₂ Reduction Assembly combination, which is connected with a CO₂ pump/compressor and storage tank due to the high CO₂ absorption capacity of the sorbent and its ability to simultaneously absorb both CO₂ and H₂O (which eliminates the need for desiccant beds in the Four Bed Molecular Sieve System). The system does not require a CO₂ pump/compressor or storage tank offering energy savings that come from effective utilization of the heat released by the Sabatier reaction to drive sorbent regeneration. Previously, TDA developed a high capacity regenerable CO₂ and H₂O sorbent to support the operation of the system and showed that the sorbent maintains its activity over extended cycling (Alptekin et al., 2003). We also demonstrated the operation of a state-of-the-art catalyst under the operation conditions of interest (Alptekin et al., 2003). Recently, TDA built a prototype of the system to demonstrate the key aspects of the process. This paper briefly describes the prototype system and summarizes the results of the demonstration tests.