A separation method including: preparing a separation device including an absorption processor absorbing into an absorption liquid a target component in a fluid to be processed, by an absorption microduct and a cooling medium microduct positioned for heat exchange; causing the fluid to be processed and the absorption liquid to pass through the absorption microduct in mutual contact, thus causing the target component to be absorbed into the absorption liquid from the fluid to be processed; cooling the fluid to be processed and the absorption liquid by flowing a cooling medium through the cooling medium microduct, and causing heat exchange between the fluid to be processed and absorption liquid flowing through the absorption microduct and the cooling medium; and separating, into the fluid to be processed and the absorption liquid, the mixed fluid of the fluid to be processed after the target component has been absorbed by the absorption liquid.

An ionic liquid desiccant system utilizes an ionic liquid desiccant to draw moisture from a working fluid, such as air that flow into an enclosure, such as a home. The desiccant may be mixed with the working fluid or a separator that allows moisture transport therethrough may be configured between the ionic liquid desiccant and the working fluid. The ionic liquid desiccant system may be part of an air conditioning system and may remove the moisture from air that is cooled by flowing over an evaporator or heat exchanger coupled with the evaporator. The ionic liquid desiccant may be pumped from a desiccant chamber to a regenerator chamber to remove absorbed moisture. A dual-purpose chamber may act as a desiccant chamber and as a regenerator chamber. A refrigeration system may have an electrochemical compressor and may utilize metal hydride heat exchangers.

A transformational energy efficient technology using ionic liquid (IL) to couple with monoethanolamine (MEA) for catalytic CO.sub.2 capture is disclosed. [EMmim.sup.+][NTF.sub.2.sup.?] based catalysts are rationally synthesized and used for CO.sub.2 capture with MEA. A catalytic CO.sub.2 capture mechanism is disclosed according to experimental and computational studies on the [EMmim.sup.+][NTF.sub.2.sup.?] for the reversible CO.sub.2 sorption and desorption.

A process for removing impurities from a flue gas, comprising treating the flue gas with a liquid absorbent comprising (i) a precursor of chlorine dioxide and (ii) an organic ionic liquid, and releasing a purified flue gas into the atmosphere. The process is useful for removing Hg, SO.sub.2 and NOx.

A self-rescuer device comprises an intake pump that creates a gas stream. The gas stream enters a first sieve that separates carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and oxygen from the gas stream to create a mixture. The remaining gas stream flows to a second sieve that separates nitrogen from the remaining gas stream and vents the residual gas to outside of the self-rescuer device through a residual output. The separated mixture is directed to a gas processor separates the oxygen from the mixture. A nitrogen storage canister coupled to the separated output of the second sieve stores the separated nitrogen, and an oxygen storage canister coupled to the separated output of the first sieve stores and concentrates the separated oxygen until a purity threshold is met. Habitable nitrogen and oxygen are metered from their storage canisters and supplied to a user through a breathing mask within an exterior mask shell.

A liquid desiccant system including a high desorber, a low desorber, and an absorber that are in fluid communication with a working solution, where the high desorber provides rejected water vapor from the working fluid for condensation in a condenser of the low desorber that provides heat for rejection of additional water from the working solution in the low desorber effectively multiplying the heat provided for desorption. The low desorber provided the concentrated working solution to the absorber where water from ambient air is condensed into the concentrated working solution to provide a dilute working solution within a working solution conduit of the absorber that is thermally coupled to an internal cooler of the absorber. In some embodiments, the working solution can be an aqueous solution of at least one ionic liquid.

[Problem to be Solved]

To provide a gas humidity regulating method and a regulator that can regulate a temperature during humidity control and improve humidity-control efficiency. In an air humidity regulating method for gas subjected to treatment, a first medium 22 is caused to flow onto a heat exchanging pipe 17 of a gas-liquid contact part 18 in a dehumidifier 11; meanwhile, a second medium 24 is passed through the heat exchanging pipe 17. In this state, air is fed into a gas-liquid contact case 13 from an inlet port 14 and gas-liquid contact is made by the first medium 22 on the gas-liquid contact part 18 so as to absorb water content from the air into the first medium 22. The first medium 22 contains an ionic liquid having high absorbency. The temperature of the first medium 22 is regulated by the second medium 24. After that, treated air is discharged from an outlet port 15 of the gas-liquid contact case 13.

A method for continuously removing water vapor from a carrier gas is disclosed. This method includes, first, causing direct contact of the carrier gas with a liquid mixture in a separation chamber, the carrier gas condensing at a lower temperature than the water vapor. A combination of chemical effects cause the water vapor to condense, complex, or both condense and complex with the liquid mixture. The liquid mixture is chosen from the group consisting of: first, a combination of components that can be maintained in a liquid phase at a temperature below the water vapor's condensation point, whereby the water vapor condenses into the liquid mixture; second, a combination of components where at least one component forms a chemical complex with the water vapor and thereby extracts at least a portion of the water vapor from the carrier gas; and third, a combination of components that can both be maintained in a liquid phase at a temperature below the water vapor's condensation point, and wherein at least one component forms a chemical complex with the water vapor and thereby extracts at least a portion of the water vapor from the carrier gas. The liquid mixture is then reconstituted after passing through the separation chamber by a chemical separation process chosen to remove an equivalent amount of the water vapor from the liquid mixture as was removed from the carrier gas. The reconstituted liquid mixture is restored to temperature and pressure through heat exchange, compression, and expansion, as necessary, in preparation for recycling back to the separation chamber. The liquid mixture is then returned to the separation chamber. In this manner, the carrier gas leaving the exchanger has between 1% and 100% of the water vapor removed.

Amines and amine derivatives that improve the buffering range, and/or reduce the chelation and other negative interactions of the buffer and the system to be buffered. The reaction of amines or polyamines with various molecules to form polyamines with differing pKa's extend the buffering range resulting in polyamines that have the same pKa yields a greater buffering capacity. Derivatives that result in zwitterionic buffers improve yield by allowing a greater range of stability.

In a general aspect, interfacial surface structures for removing carbon dioxide from a gaseous feed are presented. In some cases, a method of removing carbon dioxide gas from a gaseous feed includes wetting surfaces of an interfacial surface structure in a gas-liquid contactor with an alkaline capture solution. The gaseous feed containing the CO.sub.2 gas is passed across the wetted surfaces of the interfacial surface structure to dissolve the CO.sub.2 gas in the alkaline capture solution. A CO.sub.2-rich alkaline capture solution is collected from the gas-liquid contactor. The CO.sub.2-rich alkaline capture solution includes dissolved CO.sub.2 gas from the gaseous feed.