Technology - Direct Air Capture

A Systems Approach

Direct Air Capture processes use two major steps:

Adsorption, binding atmospheric CO₂ to a sorbent material, and
Desorption, separating the CO₂ from the sorbent.

As it captures CO₂, the sorbent also collects water vapor. Our sorbent material binds or releases CO₂ and water dependent on environmental conditions like temperature and vacuum.

Our technology is unique in how we complete those steps. Rather than heating and cooling a single piece of equipment, we continuously move our proprietary sorbent between adsorption and desorption chambers. This allows us to keep the adsorber and desorber at consistent temperature and vacuum conditions, translating into energy savings, and also allows us to use and customize off-the-shelf equipment.

How It Works

Air

CO₂

Water

Sorbent

step 1

Air Intake

Using large fans, air is pulled into the DAC system.

step 2

Adsorption

CO₂ in the air attaches to our sorbent, a solid compound that has been designed for the process.

step 3

Desorption

The sorbent is moved into a separate vacuum chamber and heated, separating the CO₂ from the sorbent.

step 4

Storage & Usage

CO₂ is removed, and may be used in products or permanently stored underground.

Sorbent Design

280 Earth created a proprietary, long-lasting, durable sorbent that desorbs at low temperatures—no steam required. We can partner with existing waste heat producers (for example, power plants, data centers, and refineries) to meet up to 80% of our system’s thermal energy needs. Our sorbent is designed to be reused for thousands of adsorption–desorption cycles, minimizing natural resource use and waste.

In addition to CO₂, our sorbent also binds to atmospheric water vapor. As a result, our DAC system produces water as a byproduct.

Manufacturing and Scaling

We partner with equipment manufacturers across industries to use existing equipment wherever possible, and where necessary to modify existing designs. This helps our manufacturing timelines and costs: the system has few specialized components, no unique or newly invented manufacturing processes, and no rare or expensive special materials.

We’re always seeking out new discoveries. Because the R&D team is leading design and construction, new inventions happen on a regular basis. Even as we grow to million-ton DAC plants, we’ll keep our commercial demonstration facility in The Dalles running to test new sorbent formulations and mechanical designs.

Why Partner with 280 Earth?

Smart use of resources

We reduce our energy needs by:

Using low-temperature waste heat from existing sources and
Keeping our adsorption and desorption equipment at consistent temperature and vacuum conditions.

Our proprietary sorbent is durable and stable, lasting for thousands of adsorption–desorption cycles.

Modular design

Our standard DAC units are connected in series, giving us the flexibility to match project size with local characteristics (for example, waste heat availability, sequestration capacity, renewable energy resources, and cooling demand from a partner).

Water generation

While other DAC technologies consume water, our process is water-positive. Water can be put to beneficial use in co-located industrial processes, such as data center cooling.