Microwave-accelerated regeneration of a non-aqueous slurry for energy-efficient carbon sequestration

We have developed a slurry of basic immobilized amine sorbent (BIAS) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) oil for a CO₂ adsorption/desorption process aided by the Microwave-Accelerated Regeneration of a Slurry (MARS). Selective microwave heating of CO₂-adsorbed BIAS can accelerate the CO₂ desorption flux by 10 times and consume much less energy for sorbent regeneration, compared to thermal heating. Furthermore, the microwave regeneration temperatures of the slurry can be lowered to 65–85 °C. These results indicate that the microwave-accelerated swing method is highly energy-efficient, which can substantially decrease the energy penalty for CO₂ capture and downscale the capture process, especially the regeneration equipment. The microwave-assisted non-aqueous capture technology without water and steam use can decrease the cooling duty by 18–48%, compared to the aqueous amine-based capture technology and promote decarbonization in a more sustainable manner.