Ceramic Technologies | Carbon Capture | Corning

As governments and businesses strive to meet net-zero targets and effectively address the climate crisis, they must significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, like carbon dioxide (CO₂). Regulating and reducing ongoing CO₂ emissions alone, however, will not be sufficient to avert the worst effects of global warming. Governments and businesses increasingly see active CO₂ removal as a necessary lever in the fight against climate change.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies are key initiatives trying to tackle this challenge. Corning is applying its expertise to two primary technology approaches:

• Direct-air capture (DAC) technology aims to reduce CO₂ already in the atmosphere. Some DAC facilities are already in operation and a significant number are currently in different planning phases globally. Most DAC facilities will leverage a process called adsorption. In this process, ambient air cycles through sorbent-coated structured media, like honeycomb substrates, to adsorb CO₂. The CO₂ is then desorbed and transported to be sequestered or utilized.
• Point-source capture technology aims to extract CO₂ from energy intensive industrial exhaust sources. The CO₂ is captured and then sequestered for permanent storage or utilization. 

The carbon capture industry is rapidly expanding and advancing to meet the goal of pulling giga tons of CO₂ out of the atmosphere by 2050. 

Corning’s honeycomb substrates are ideally suited solutions for CO₂ capture technologies in DAC and point-source applications that utilize solid sorbents.

Honeycomb structures, in combination with the highly engineered ceramic materials, enable extensive applications for Corning's substrates. Corning substrates combine materials of high mechanical strength, a wide range of porosities, low mass, with a wide flexibility for channel geometry designs that apply to the various processes and system designs customers are launching. Corning has made more than 2 billion honeycomb structures for the harsh environments of mobile emissions and stationary applications with proven durability. Customers count on Corning’s design and modeling expertise that help them optimize their cost and design requirements.

Substrates for DAC: The concentration of CO₂ in ambient air is low (0.04%), requiring a substantial amount of air to be handled and captured by DAC facilities. Corning’s substrate portfolio features high geometric surface area materials with low pressure drop, which can process large volumes of flow-through and support active sorbent materials critical to carbon capture.

Substrates for Point-Source: High geometric surface area materials with low pressure drop are also needed for point-source capture. CO₂ concentrations are higher than DAC, but large volume flows still need to be treated. With high surface area, mechanical strength and chemical tolerance, Corning's flow-through substrates enable process intensification as well as a reduction in the required processing energy compared to alternative technologies.

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