Direct air capture technologies: innovations, integration, and pathways to scale

Abstract

Direct air capture (DAC) represents a pivotal technology for achieving negative carbon emissions, offering the potential to extract CO2 directly from ambient air and thereby contribute to global Net Zero targets. Despite its promise, large-scale DAC deployment remains constrained by substantial energy requirements and economic challenges. This review provides a comprehensive and critical assessment of recent advances in DAC technologies, emphasizing their development from tailored chemistry to process engineering. Each capture strategy is systematically examined with particular focus on capture mechanism, energy consumption minimization, capture efficiency enhancement, and environmental impa..