Case Study: High-throughput breakthrough analysis for direct air capture materials
Avantium’s breakthrough analyzer provides a powerful platform for fast, accurate, and reproducible testing of Direct Air Capture (DAC) adsorbents. With 8 parallel columns, advanced microfluidic feed control, and fully integrated data analytics, the system accelerates material screening, kinetic studies, and long‑term stability evaluations.
System Highlights
Parallel Breakthrough Testing
- 8 parallel columns in two independent temperature zones
- Stainless steel or quartz columns (200 mm × 6 mm; ID 2–5 mm)
- Microfluidic feed distribution for uniform and precise flow control
- Flexible feed composition:
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- Premixed CO₂ bottles for high accuracy
- In‑situ dilution to atmospheric concentrations from up to 20 vol% CO₂ in N₂
- Optional water co‑feeding in both adsorption and desorption channels
- Supports TSA, P(V)SA, moisture swing and steam desorption techniques
- Integrated with advanced data analytics tools for real-time monitoring and post-run analysis
Adsorbent Screening
Parallel column measurements enable the fast screening of many materials and operating conditions, dramatically reducing testing time compared to single‑flow systems. The setup delivers highly reproducible results; for example, six identical samples analyzed alongside two blank columns achieved <0.3% RSD. Data fidelity is further strengthened by the ability to include blanks, reference materials, and duplicate samples within each run, ensuring robust and reliable comparisons.
Fig: Capacity of six parallel columns loaded with amine-functionalized adsorbent showing unprecedented column-to-column repeatability (two blank column omitted)
A selection of commercially available Direct Air Capture adsorbent materials was tested under realistic conditions (23°C, 50%RH) for five adsorption and desorption cycles each. From the breakthrough experiments the adsorption kinetics can be derived using the shape of the breakthrough curves. For example, the breakthrough curves for the selected materials shown in the figure vary significantly with two materials exhibiting sharp S-curves and two material curves showing signs of kinetic limitations i.e. wider breakthrough events or CO2 slip.
Figure: Breakthrough curves of selection of commercially amine-functionalized adsorbents showing variation in breakthrough kinetics
The desorption curves can also be informative, as insight in the types of surface species can be derived for peak position and shape. In the following example all four materials start to desorb material at the start of the desorption step, showing that a simple concentration swing at constant temperatures is sufficient to remove part of the carbon dioxide present in the sample. The onset temperature and the overall curve shape give information about the adsorption site and the relative strength thereof. Note that the Sunresin and Hailan sorbents show a delayed desorption compared to the other two samples, indicating distinctly different adsorption strengths than for the adsorption species in the other samples.
Figure: Desorption curves of selection of commercially amine-functionalized adsorbents showing variation in desorption kinetics. Curves obtained with a 1 °C/min heating ramp up to 90 °C and 1h hold.
Besides differences in adsorption kinetics, also differences in capacity and stability over the first couple cycles can be derived from these experiments. Clear differences in absolute capacity and in the loss per cycle, ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 %/cycle, can be observed.
Figure: Capacity of selection of commercially amine-functionalized adsorbents showing variation in capacity after fixed adsorption time (5h) and initial deactivation.
Humidity control
In Direct Air Capture the presence of atmospheric moisture can both be beneficial and detrimental to the performance of the adsorbent material depending on the concentration and the material. To investigate the impact of moisture, accurate and precise control of the feed is paramount.
The figure below shows an example of humidity ranges and stability achievable in our Breakthrough Analyzers. Here the humidity in a -10 to 40 °C temperature range is shown during an adsorption step of over 1000+ minutes, displaying the typical stability of the water concentration, this is typically better than 0.1%RSD. Note that the water concentration is fed independently of the column temperature and a turn down rate of over 125 can be achieved, e.g. 0.75 – 95 %RH at a given temperature. Our unit can maintain these humidity levels for extended periods of time, 100 – 1000’ s of cycles.
Figure: Humidity feed of our breakthrough analyzer showing accurate and stable operation for 1000+ minutes.
Long term stability
Our high-throughput breakthrough analyzer is designed to be ideally suited for long term testing due to the above mentioned accuracy and stable operation with regards to temperature, pressure, feed composition and flow rate. This enables in depth analysis of long term stability effects in for example Direct Air Capture.
In the following example the long term stability of a selected amine-functionalized resin is shown, indicating the strength of this technique in determining small changes between cycles, and showing the impact of water on the performance of these materials.
Figure: Capacity of amine-functionalized adsorbent showing initial deactivation and regeneration under humid conditions.
Conclusion
High‑throughput breakthrough testing delivers the high‑quality data needed to advance Direct Air Capture research. By enabling rapid, reproducible screening of adsorbents under realistic conditions along with precise humidity control and long‑term stability evaluation, it accelerates material development and supports more informed process optimization.
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