CONTIBAC® Filters for Direct Air Capture Applications
Direct Air Capture technologies remove CO₂ directly from ambient air using amine-based solvents that selectively bind carbon dioxide. Maintaining solvent purity over extended operating periods is critical, without effective solid-liquid separation, precipitated salts and degradation products accumulate in the solvent loop, negatively affecting mass transfer, increasing degradation rates, and leading to fouling and operational instability. Effective filtration is a key enabler for solvent lifetime, system availability, and overall process efficiency.
DrM supplied six CONTIBAC® filters to a Direct Air Capture developer in the USA for continuous solvent clarification in an amine-based DAC system. The process challenge was the continuous removal of precipitated salts, degradation products, and fine particulate from the solvent loop to protect solvent stability and system performance over long campaign lengths.
The CONTIBAC® filter operates as a semi-continuous pressure filter, providing consistent clarification of the solvent circuit while maintaining a compact footprint and low solvent losses. Its semi-continuous back-flush operation allows reliable removal of fine particulate and precipitated salts without process interruption, supporting the stable, low-maintenance operation that DAC systems require. Key functional benefits delivered in this project include reliable removal of fine particulate and precipitated salts, protection of solvent quality supporting extended solvent lifetime, stable filtration performance contributing to predictable energy consumption, and compatibility with continuous DAC operation supporting scale-up concepts.
With more than 80 installations worldwide in gas sweetening and carbon capture applications, DrM filtration systems are established solutions for both mature separation processes and emerging CO₂ capture technologies.