Development of Combined Carbon Capture and Conversion(quad-C) Systems for the Utilization of Atmospheric CO2
Project Manager (PM) : FUKUSHIMA Yasuhiro, Tohoku UniversitySummary
Many of the chemical products around us contain carbon. For a carbon-neutral future, a shift is required in chemicalproduction so that this carbon should be sourced predominantly from three recycling routes: from biomass, carbon
fixation and end-of-life (EoL) products. In this project we develop a new CO2 utilization process that will allow carbon tobe introduced into chemical production through an energy-saving conversion route which is suitable for use with theabove three carbon sources.

Strategy 1 - Taking an energy-saving conversion route:
Many chemical substances contain a structure calledcarbonyl. There are many good examples of carbonylcontaining products around us, in resins, such aspolycarbonate, polyurethane, and urea, in lithium-ion battery
materials, etc. The advantage of employing a route thatallows CO2 to be used as a carbonyl source is that, by useof an appropriate catalyst, CO2 can be incorporated into thechemical structure without the need for a carbon reduction
process. This amounts to a high energy saving.
Strategy 2 – Streamlining the conversion process using DFMs: To obtain CO2, which exists in the atmosphere at aconcentration of only ~ 0.04%, a huge amount of air needs to be blown into the converter. A high recovery rate of CO2
from the introduced air is the key to save energy, which will be carbon-free while being extremely limited in the future.
We approach this challenge by upgrading membrane separation technology that was originally developed for space
applications. In addition, we eliminate energy requirement for CO2 recovery from absorbents by using a new process
configuration termed Combined Carbon Capture and Conversion (quad-C) realized by Dual Function Materials (DFMs).

Our first target is to produce a urea derivative by bringing the ethylene diamine that chemically absorbed CO2
into contact with the catalyst (CeO2). The knowledge on sorption and the reaction of various DFMs and CO2
obtained in this work, together with the new simulation and evaluation techniques we develop, will expand therange of carbonyl compounds that can be produced from CO2 with biomass and recycled EoL products.

KPI
FY2022[Confirmation of Strategy 1] Using
existing pilot plant for Direct Air
Capture and storage as thebenchmark, we will demonstratethat an energy saving greater than
40% is attainable, by processsimulation based on our original
experimental data.

FY2024[Confirmation of Strategy 2] Using ahypothetical process that utilizes
high concentration CO2 supplied byexisting Direct Air Capture pilot
processforproducingurea
derivatives as the benchmark, wewill demonstrate a twofold CO2
emission reduction by processsimulation based on our original
experimental data.

FY2029[Pilot demonstration] A pilot plant
will be established for the quadC process using diamine toproduce
urea
derivatives,confirming abovementioned key
performance indicators.

Implementation
Tohoku University, Osaka Metropolitan University, Renaissance Energy Research Corporation

Moonshot Research and Development Program［Project Overview］