Method for efficient CO2 degasification

• US 9,873,650 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2016
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: X Development LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: X Development LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Eisaman, Matthew D., Karnitz, Stephen D., Rivest, Jessica L. B.
• Primary Examiner(s): PARSA, JAFAR F
• Application Number:
  US15/204,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20170342006A1
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 19/0005 with one or more auxiliary substances
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 19/0031 by filtration
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/504 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/1475 Removing carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/025 Reverse osmosis; Hyperfiltration
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/027 Nanofiltration
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/422 Electrodialysis
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/58 Multistep processes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/50 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/20 by degassing, i.e. liberation of dissolved gases degasification of liquids in general B01D19/00; arrangement of degassing apparatus in boiler feed supply F22D
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/4693 electrodialysis
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/66 by neutralisation; pH adjustment for degassing C02F1/20; using ion-exchange C02F1/42; for flocculation or precipitation of suspended impurities C02F1/52; for removing dissolved compounds C02F1/58
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2103/08 Seawater, e.g. for desalination
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/06 pH
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 29/1516 Multisteps
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 31/04 Methanol
• CPC Class Codes: C25B 1/00 Electrolytic production of inorganic compounds or non-metals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02C 20/40 of CO2

Abstract

A method including acidifying a solution including dissolved inorganic carbon; vacuum stripping a first amount of a carbon dioxide gas from the acidified solution; stripping a second amount of the carbon dioxide gas from the acidified solution; and collecting the first amount and the second amount of the carbon dioxide gas. A system including; a first desorption unit including a first input connected to a dissolved inorganic carbon solution source to and a second input coupled to a vacuum source; and a second desorption unit including a first input coupled to the solution output from the first desorption unit and a second input coupled to a sweep gas source.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

acidifying a solution including dissolved inorganic carbon with aqueous HCl from an electrodialysis unit to form an acidified solution, wherein the electrodialysis unit receives a salt water solution and outputs the aqueous HCl and aqueous NaOH;

converting the dissolved inorganic carbon into carbon dioxide gas in response to acidifying the solution with the aqueous HCl from the electrodialysis unit;

vacuum stripping a first amount of the carbon dioxide gas from the acidified solution;

after vacuum stripping the first amount of the carbon dioxide gas, stripping a second amount of the carbon dioxide gas from the acidified solution; and

collecting the first amount of the carbon dioxide gas and the second amount of the carbon dioxide gas.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the first amount of the carbon dioxide gas and the second amount of the carbon dioxide gas comprises combining the first amount of the carbon dioxide gas and the second amount of the carbon dioxide gas.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the solution comprises sea water.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein vacuum stripping comprises passing the acidified solution through a membrane contactor in the presence of a vacuum.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein stripping a second amount of the carbon dioxide gas comprises passing the acidified solution through a second membrane contactor in the presence of a sweep gas, wherein the second membrane contactor is coupled to receive the acidified solution from the first membrane contactor.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the sweep gas comprises a partial pressure of carbon dioxide gas that is less than a partial pressure of carbon dioxide gas in the acidified solution.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the sweep gas comprises at least one of carbon monoxide or hydrogen.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein collecting the first amount of the carbon dioxide gas and the second amount of the carbon dioxide gas comprises combining the first amount of the carbon dioxide gas and the second amount of the carbon dioxide gas and the combination includes an amount of the sweep gas.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein collecting the second amount of carbon dioxide comprises collecting an amount of the sweep gas, the method further comprising separating the carbon dioxide from an amount of the sweep gas.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the collected first amount of carbon dioxide and second amount of carbon dioxide are electrolyzed with steam.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising hydrogenating the collected first amount of carbon dioxide and second amount of carbon dioxide to methanol.

12. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

filtering the sea water with a nanofiltration unit to remove ions and organic matter from the sea water; and

removing calcium and magnesium ions from the seawater using a precipitation unit coupled to receive the seawater from the nanofiltration unit, and coupled to receive the aqueous NaOH from the electrodialysis unit, wherein the salt water includes the sea water.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrodialysis unit is coupled to perform operations comprising:

receiving the salt water solution with a brine solution compartment disposed in the electrodialysis unit;

applying a voltage across electrodes in the electrodialysis unit;

outputting the saltwater solution from the brine solution compartment with a lower salt concentration in response to the voltage applied across the electrodes;

receiving the aqueous HCl with an acidified solution compartment disposed in the electrodialysis unit;

applying the voltage across the electrodes in the electrodialysis unit; and

outputting the aqueous HCl, with a higher HCl concentration, from the acidified solution compartment to acidify the solution, wherein chlorine ions in the brine solution compartment traveled to the acidified solution compartment in response to the voltage across the electrodes.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the electrodialysis unit is coupled to perform operations further comprising:

receiving the aqueous NaOH with a basified solution compartment disposed in the electrodialysis unit;

applying the voltage across the electrodes in the electrodialysis unit; and

outputting the aqueous NaOH from the basified solution compartment with a higher NaOH concentration in response to the voltage applied across the electrodes.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein in response to the voltage, the chlorine ions flow through an anion exchange membrane disposed between the brine solution compartment and the acidified solution compartment, and wherein in response to the voltage, hydrogen ions and hydroxyl ions flow through a bipolar membrane disposed between the acidified solution compartment and the basified solution compartment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein applying the voltage across the electrodes in the electrodialysis unit includes collecting sodium ions at a negatively charged terminal, and wherein the brine solution compartment, the acidified solution compartment, and the basified solution compartment are included in a first cell in a plurality of cells in the electrodialysis unit.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising neutralizing the acidified solution with the aqueous NaOH output from the basified solution compartment in the electrodialysis unit, after stripping a second amount of the carbon dioxide gas from the acidified solution.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing ions from the solution with a resin tower; and

outputting the salt water solution from the resin tower to the electrodialysis unit.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising removing water from the salt water with a reverse osmosis unit coupled between the resin tower and the electrodialysis unit.