PSA-SPUR (Pressure Swing Adsorption – Selective Purge Gas Recirculation)

PSA-SPUR increases the recovery of CO₂ at exceptionally high purity and recovery rates, while maintaining low energy consumption. PSA-SPUR is a prime solution for capturing CO₂ from diverse gas streams to significantly reduce the overall carbon footprint of industrial processes.

Edinburgh’s technology extends beyond CO₂ capture, as it excels in selectively recovering heavy gas components within gas mixtures, showcasing its versatility for a range of applications in gas separation.

Application

Efficient heavy gas separation.

Development Status

Prototype demonstrator results.

IP Status

Granted patent (Korea).

Commercial Offerings

Commercialisation via Licensing.

Opportunity

In response to the need to address climate change, governments worldwide have implemented legally binding policies aimed at restricting greenhouse gas emissions. Conversely, industries with high carbon emissions are no longer approaching decarbonisation as a voluntary initiative but rather as a regulated activity subject to government scrutiny.

The pivotal steps toward emission reduction involve the redesign of manufacturing processes, for the adoption of alternative energy sources and a re-evaluation of supply chain solutions. However, these transformative processes are inherently slow and rely on technologies that are still evolving. In the interim, gas separation processes offer a promising avenue for capturing CO₂ from gas mixtures, preventing the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This makes them an appealing solution for achieving carbon-neutrality.

Our proprietary technology, PSA-SPUR, is readily available and stands as a viable means to help various industries worldwide achieve their environmental objectives. PSA-SPUR stands as a practical and efficient solution, contributing significantly to the pursuit of carbon-neutrality across some of the world's most influential industries

Technology

Dr Ahn pioneered the PSA-SPUR technology, focusing on the cost-effective removal of a heavy component, i.e. the most strongly adsorbing compounds, from a gas mixture. The key innovation in PSA-SPUR lies in its unique design of the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) system, which operates under a distinctive process control. The design ensures that product purity and recovery are maintained at exceptionally high levels. Unlike other PSA technologies, PSA-SPUR does not necessitate harsh operating conditions, such as a very high vacuum. It accomplishes its task with pressure swing alone, with a good potential for performance improvement through temperature and pressure swing.

PSA-SPUR has been shown to excel in capturing CO₂ from gas mixtures where CO₂ is in low concentration. This ground-breaking technology has been successfully demonstrated in various carbon capture applications, including post-combustion capture, producing high-purity CO₂ with a remarkable recovery rate from a simulated flue gas containing 6.4 mol% CO₂.

Benefits

• Efficient separation of carbon dioxide and adaptability to separation of other gases.
• Achieves high purity (95+%) and high recovery (90+%) of the target component.
• Significantly reduces energy consumption compared to conventional method (about 50% less energy usage than an amine process for CO₂ capture).
• Simplifies construction and operation due to the adsorption column’s fixed bed design (not requiring solid moving or circulation), allowing for easy Implementation into existing PSA hardware and infrastructure.
• Represents a readily available and feasible alternative for long-term decarbonisation incentives.

Quote: TEC1104554