Direct Air Capture Solvent Replacement Rate

Estimate daily and per-tonne solvent make-up for direct air capture systems by combining inventory size, degradation per cycle, regeneration cadence, and optional handling losses.

Total circulating solvent mass across contactors and storage.
Fraction of solvent rendered unusable each adsorption/regeneration cycle.
Bed switches or batch regenerations completed per 24 hours.
Net delivered CO₂ output after downtime and sorbent slip.
Leave blank for zero. Includes leaks, filters, or sampling draws.

Operations planning tool—tie results back to measured solvent inventories and laboratory degradation assays before finalising procurement budgets.

Examples

  • 85 tonnes inventory, 0.18% degradation per cycle, 1.5 cycles/day, 450 tonnes/day capture, 120 kg/day handling loss ⇒ Solvent make-up demand: 414.75 kg/day (12,442.50 kg/month) at 0.18% loss per cycle. That equals 0.000922 kg solvent per tonne of CO₂ captured.
  • 60 tonnes inventory, 0.25% degradation per cycle, 1.1 cycles/day, 320 tonnes/day capture, optional loss blank ⇒ Solvent make-up demand: 165.00 kg/day (4,950.00 kg/month) at 0.25% loss per cycle. That equals 0.000516 kg solvent per tonne of CO₂ captured.

FAQ

How should I estimate cycles per day for modular contactor arrays?

Multiply the number of parallel trains by the fraction that regenerate each day. If 48 boxes cycle once every 24 hours, cycles per day equals 1.0; if half the fleet regenerates twice per day, use 1.0 × 0.5 + 2.0 × 0.5 = 1.5.

Can I model solvent slip into the CO₂ product stream?

Yes. Convert the measured slip into kg/day and add it to the mechanical loss field so the result captures both degradation and entrainment losses.

What if degradation accelerates with contaminant breakthrough?

Update the degradation percent with the higher observed rate and rerun the calculation. Maintaining a historical log of the input lets you prove whether pre-treatment upgrades reduced solvent attrition.

Does the per-tonne metric account for downtime?

Yes. Because you enter net CO₂ captured per day, the calculator automatically scales solvent make-up to the delivered tonnage after planned or unplanned downtime.

Additional Information

  • Result unit: kilograms of solvent replacement required per day and per month, plus kg solvent per tonne of CO₂ captured.
  • Degradation input is interpreted as a percent of the circulating inventory consumed each cycle; enter 0.2 for 0.2%.
  • Mechanical loss defaults to zero when blank, reflecting ideal closed-loop handling.

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