Research is active on the patent pending technology titled, "Method for the Separation of a Gaseous Component Using a Solvent-Membrane Capture Process.” This technology is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The current invention describes a hybrid process for post-combustion CO2 capture using a solvent-based absorption/high pressure stripping gas step coupled with selective CO2 membrane separation. The method is unique in that the solvent-based absorption/stripping process uses thermal compression to efficiently increase the concentration and partial pressure of CO2 in the gas mixture, allowing for more efficient membrane separation. The hybrid process integrates the most efficient aspects of each method resulting in a reduction of the parasitic energy demand of the post-combustion CO2 capture process.
