In-depth direct air capture integration to achieve zero-carbon and water data center

[Geoengineering News]

Authors: Yuxuan Zhang, Sheng Chen, Mincheng Gao, Xiaojie Lin, Binjian Nie, Yongzhen Wang, Long Jiang

18 April 2026

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100615

Abstract

Data center accounts for a considerable amount of annual CO2 emission and water consumption, but current energy-saving technological approaches make it difficult to achieve net-zero carbon and water. As an emerging negative emission technology, direct air capture (DAC) can act as a backstop solution to ensure the realization of net-zero carbon and water in data center. This study proposes a strategy that couples DAC with data center operations, in which the waste heat generated by the data center is utilized for the desorption process of DAC. This approach enables effective waste heat utilization while simultaneously reducing both water consumption and carbon emissions of the data center. A case study is conducted to investigate the impacts of various factors on achieving zero-water and carbon operation. The results indicate that when the electricity emission factor is 0.36 kg CO₂/kWh, zero-carbon operation of the data center can be achieved under the current DAC adsorption capacity. Moreover, when the water-to-carbon adsorption ratio of DAC is 4, approximately 1100 kg of CO₂ capture is required to achieve water balance. As a core infrastructure of the digital economy, the realization of zero-water and carbon data center is expected to support the sustainable growth of the next-generation digital economy, thereby contributing to global economic development.

Source: ScienceDirect