US-20260124574-A1 - INCREASING GAS ABSORPTION INTO LIQUID

Abstract

A method of absorbing gas includes providing a liquid to a liquid input region and pulling the liquid from the liquid input region across a surface to a liquid output region by applying negative pressure to the liquid output region. The surface is disposed between the liquid input region and the liquid output region and a tension on the liquid traversing the surface increases an absorption of the gas in air into the liquid.

Inventors

• Roger N. Johnson

Assignees

• EIDON, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251212

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method of absorbing gas, the method comprising: providing a liquid to a liquid input region; and pulling the liquid from the liquid input region across a surface to a liquid output region by applying negative pressure to the liquid output region, the surface being disposed between the liquid input region and the liquid output region, wherein a tension on the liquid traversing the surface increases an absorption of the gas in air into the liquid.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising: limiting the tension on the liquid traversing the surface with a pressure regulator valve coupled to the liquid input region.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the tension on the liquid is tensioned by the negative pressure.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the negative pressure is provided by a pump.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the gas includes carbon dioxide.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface includes metal.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface is a textured surface.
8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the textured surface include microstructures sized between 1 and 100 microns.
9. 9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the textured surface include holes sized between 1 and 100 microns.
10. 10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein spaces between microstructures of the textured surface are sized to allow the liquid to be pulled through the spaces between the microstructure under tension without cavitation.
11. 11 . A gas absorption system comprising: a liquid input region; a liquid output region; a surface disposed between the liquid input region and the liquid output region; and a pump coupled to the liquid output region, wherein the pump is configured to pull liquid from the liquid input region to the liquid output region over, wherein the liquid traversing the surface is tensioned by a negative pressure applied by the pump to increase absorption of gas from air into the liquid.
12. 12 . The gas absorption system of claim 11 further comprising: a pressure regulator valve coupled to the liquid input region, wherein the pressure regulator valve is configured to limit the tension on the liquid traversing the surface.
13. 13 . The gas absorption system of claim 11 , wherein the gas includes carbon dioxide.
14. 14 . The gas absorption system of claim 11 , wherein the surface includes metal.
15. 15 . The gas absorption system of claim 11 , wherein the liquid includes glycol.
16. 16 . The gas absorption system of claim 11 further comprising: one or more fans configured to drive the air over the liquid traversing the surface.
17. 17 . The gas absorption system of claim 11 , wherein the surface is a textured surface.
18. 18 . The gas absorption system of claim 17 , wherein the textured surface include microstructures sized between 1 and 100 microns.
19. 19 . The gas absorption system of claim 17 , wherein the textured surface include holes sized between 1 and 100 microns.
20. 20 . The gas absorption system of claim 17 , wherein spaces between microstructures of the textured surface are sized to allow the liquid to be pulled through the spaces between the microstructure under tension without cavitation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. non-provisional Application No. Ser. No. 18/938,267 filed Nov. 5, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to carbon capture, and in particular to carbon dioxide absorption into liquids. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Carbon capture techniques are being developed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon capture is one way to offset emissions from industrial or recreational activities, for example. The carbon capture industry includes Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as well as Direct Air Capture (DAC) techniques. It is desirable to reduce costs and increase efficiency of carbon capture processes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. FIG. 1 illustrates a carbon dioxide absorption system, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 2A illustrates an example carbon capture device including a textured hydrophilic surface disposed between a liquid input region and a liquid output region, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 2B provides a zoomed-in view of a cross-section of a manifold and textured hydrophilic surface, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 2C illustrates an alternative example of a textured hydrophilic surface, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 2D illustrates a zoomed-in version of liquid traversing microstructures of a textured hydrophilic surface to increase absorption of carbon dioxide in liquid, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a carbon capture device including channels in a textured hydrophilic surface, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 4A illustrates a mesh that may be utilized to form a textured hydrophilic surface, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 4B illustrates a three-dimensional (3D) curved cavity structure that may be used to form a textured hydrophilic surface, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates an array of carbon capture devices that are disposed together, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates a process of absorbing carbon dioxide from air, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of carbon dioxide absorption into liquids are described herein. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the techniques described herein can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring certain aspects. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Many different carbon capture and carbon mitigation techniques are being attempted and industrialized. These efforts include Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Direct Air Capture (DAC), Mineral Carbonation, and Enhanced Oil Recovery, for example. However, none of these techniques are particularly energy efficient. Even carbon capture techniques that leverage local geo-thermal energy could be significantly more efficient. In implementations of the disclosure, carbon dioxide absorption in liquid (e.g. water or glycol) is enhanced by pulling the liquid over a textured hydrophilic surface. A liquid may be placed under tension by a liquid pump that pulls the liquid over the textured hydrophilic surface. The textured hydrophilic surface may include microstructures sized between 1 micron and 50 microns, in some implementations. The textured hydrophilic surface may include microstructures sized between 1 micron and 100 microns, in some implementations. The microstructures may be formed by sand adhered to a substrate, metal being anodized, mesh, and/or steel wool, for example. In some implementations, one or more fans drive air over the liquid to increase the carbon dioxide absorption. Since absorbing carbon dioxide into the liquid only causes a modest expansion of the liquid (e.g. 2-10% expansion) and can be achieved by applyi