Carbon capture technology developed by the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory has been adopted for use in building HVAC systems. The carbon removal sorbent is used to capture the carbon that accumulates in buildings so that the HVAC system doesn’t need to pull fresh air from outside as often, making the systems more efficient, NETL announced last week.
“Traditionally, we’ve developed sorbents for CO2 and other contaminant removal in power plants,” NETL senior scientist Ranjani Siriwardane said in a press release. “But sorbent technologies can work anywhere there’s a need for CO2 and contaminant removal, including a building’s HVAC system.”
NETL worked with HVAC company enVerid Systems to develop a system that uses sorbents to remove carbon from the indoor air. The new HVAC Load Reduction technology, which can be added to existing HVAC systems, is commercially available. “It’s exciting how this technology has applications beyond power plants,” Siriwardane said. “I’m proud that we can impact workers’ daily lives, their comfort, and their health.”
