Capturing CO2 Directly From Truck Exhaust and Reducing Emissions 90%

[Judi Lynn]

By EPFL DECEMBER 31, 2019

Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have patented a new concept that could cut trucks’ CO2 emissions by almost 90%. It involves capturing CO2 within the exhaust system, converting it into a liquid and storing it on the vehicle. The liquid CO2 would then be delivered to a service station and where it will be turned back into fuel using renewable energy.

In Europe, transport is responsible for nearly 30% of the total CO2 emissions, of which 72% comes from road transportation. While the use of electric vehicles for personal transportation could help lower that number, reducing emissions from commercial transport – such as trucks or buses – is a much greater challenge.

Researchers at EPFL have now come up with a novel solution: capturing CO2 directly in the trucks’ exhaust system and liquefying it in a box on the vehicle’s roof. The liquid CO2 is then delivered to a service station, where it is turned into conventional fuel using renewable energy. The project is being coordinated by the Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering group, led by François Maréchal, at EPFL’s School of Engineering. The patented concept is the subject of a paper published in Frontiers in Energy Research on December 16, 2019.

A complex process onboard the vehicle

Scientists propose to combine several technologies developed at EPFL to capture CO2 and convert it from a gas to a liquid in a process that recovers most of energy available onboard, such as heat from the engine. In their study, the scientists used the example of a delivery truck.

More:
https://scitechdaily.com/capturing-co2-directly-from-truck-exhaust-and-reducing-emissions-90/

[Miguelito Loveless]

1. Sounds like a complicated, expensive, and energy intensive system

How much energy does it take to convert "liquid CO2" back into a combustible hydrocarbon? This is an important question, and one the keeps hydrogen fuel cell vehicles from being a viable.

This paper seems to "handwave" a lot of important math.