Techno-economic evaluation of solar-driven direct air capture under various configurations

[Geoengineering News]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196890425007575

Authors

Farzin Hosseinifard, Mohsen Salimi, Majid Amidpour 

23 July 2025

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2025.120233

Highlights

•Direct air capture with solar tower and panels gave lowest cost at $276.21 per ton.

•Solar tower systems showed the highest exergoeconomic factor of 19.53%.

•Parabolic trough system reached top exergy efficiency of 6.77%.

•Photovoltaic-only system had the highest cost at $296.12 per ton removed.

•Carbon dioxide level had little effect on direct air capture performance.

Abstract

The growing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has intensified climate change concerns, prompting the need for scalable and sustainable carbon removal technologies. Direct air capture (DAC) is a promising solution, yet it is hindered by high energy demands and fossil fuel dependency. This study presents a comprehensive techno-economic and exergoeconomic analysis of solar-integrated DAC systems to assess their performance under four different configurations: DAC powered by photovoltaic (PV) panels alone, DAC with PV and parabolic trough collectors (PTC), DAC with PV and a single solar tower, and DAC with PV and a modular solar tower. The DAC process is simulated in Aspen Plus V11 using a hydroxide-carbonate absorption cycle. Among the evaluated scenarios, the DAC + PV + Single Tower system achieves the lowest levelized cost of DAC (LCOD) at 276.21 $/ton, representing a 6.7 % cost reduction compared to the PV-only configuration. Furthermore, this scenario demonstrates the highest exergoeconomic factor (19.53 %), highlighting superior cost-effectiveness and thermodynamic performance. While the PV + PTC configuration exhibits the highest exergy efficiency (6.77 %), its cost savings are marginal compared to tower-based systems. These findings underscore the potential of solar-assisted DAC systems, particularly tower-integrated configurations, as a viable and economically attractive solution for large-scale atmospheric carbon dioxide removal.

Source: ScienceDirect