Novel, Nature-Inspired, 3D-printed Zeolite Topologies for Selective Carbon Capture

Currently, NASA's life support systems, for CO2 removal, employ packed bed canisters filled with 2-mm-in-diameter zeolite beads (i.e., two beds for H2O and two beds for CO2 removal, making a four-bed CO2 (4BCO2) scrubber assembly). This technology has proven effective, however, there is significant room for improvement. Problems associated with the packed beds are rooted in the random packing of zeolite beads within their given canister. The low packing density, and large void space inherent to a packed bed, create preferred pathways of least resistance for the inflowing cabin air to travel. Thus, causing a maldistribution of the inlet gas across the bed, reducing the volumetric efficiency and CO2 uptake capacity of the packed bed system. For the same reasons, packed beds manage heat poorly. The random packing of beads within a bed reduces the surface contact between individual beads, therefore, resulting in poor thermal conductivity across the spherical beads. Thus, packed beds cannot rapidly disperse heat uniformly, and cause inefficiencies during the regeneration process. Considering the limitations of packed bed systems, replacing zeolite beads with nature-inspired zeolite topologies could improve upon many of the shortcomings that inhibit current systems. Robocasting, a modern direct-ink printing technology, has created the ability to manufacture novel 3D zeolite topologies, with the potential of boosting system performance. Monolithic 3D zeolite designs, inspired by the bronchi arrangement of a human lung can improve (i) CO2 sorption rates and volumetric capacities, (ii) pressure drop penalties across the bed, (iii) heat distribution and thermal transport throughout the bed, and (iv) increase mechanical stability to withstand mechanical shock and vibrations. However, gaps in the fundamental knowledge of both manufacturing and dynamic sorption physics limit the current capacity to optimize geometry and manufacturing techniques.

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