Ambient air passes through a reactor with an inorganic adsorber – Potassium Carbonate on activated Carbon – which selectively binds CO₂ and H₂O from the air stream with high mass-transfer. Raising the temperature over 80°C in combination with controlled humidity reverses the capture reaction, releasing CO₂ and H₂O and allowing the adsorbent to be reused immediately after cooling down to ambient temperature.
Based on the high adsorption capacity and selectivity of the adsorbent, CO₂ product purity is greater than 99.5% after CO₂ compression and dehydration. The highly selective adsorption of CO₂ and its robustness against degradation and non-reactiveness with other molecules from ambient air is an important advantage of a non-amine catalytic process and distinguishes this process from the results obtained from amine-based physical solvents, membranes, or adsorbents.