There is no single best carbon-capture sorbent for every site. PrISMa, a research platform described in a 2024 Nature study, evaluates materials alongside the gas being treated, the capture process, local utilities, costs and lifecycle impacts—so a promising laboratory result is not mistaken for a universally best choice.
Why location changes which carbon-capture material looks best
A sorbent captures carbon dioxide by taking it up from a gas stream; a capture process then has to release that CO2, meet product requirements and do so with acceptable energy use and cost. A material can perform well on a simple laboratory measure such as selectivity—the preference for CO2 over another gas—yet fare less well when the complete process is considered.
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That distinction matters because capture sites differ. A cement plant, coal-fired power station and natural-gas combined-cycle plant do not present identical gas streams or operating requirements. Local electricity prices and emissions also affect the economics and climate impact of operating a capture plant. As Berend Smit, one of the study leaders, told Chemistry World, “People have been looking at materials for carbon capture, but they were using very simple metrics, like the selectivity – something you can easily measure that doesn’t involve the process side of things.”
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The implication is practical: a material ranking is meaningful only in relation to the case and the measure being ranked. PrISMa is designed to make those dependencies visible, rather than declare one sorbent the winner everywhere.
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What PrISMa evaluates
PrISMa stands for Process-Informed design of tailor-made Sorbent Materials. A case in the platform is framed around a CO2 source, its destination or sink, the capture technology, available utilities and geographical region. Its four linked analytical layers connect material science to plant-level performance and environmental assessment:
- Materials: Experimental data or crystal structures are used to predict adsorption thermodynamics for CO2, nitrogen and water.
- Process: Material and equipment inputs are used to estimate results such as CO2 product purity, recovery, productivity and energy requirements.
- Techno-economics: The process is assessed for technical and economic viability.
- Lifecycle assessment: Environmental impacts over the plant’s lifetime are evaluated.
The 2024 paper reports 50 key performance indicators (KPIs), comparisons across more than 60 case studies in five global regions, and an interactive visualization tool representing more than 1,200 materials. These are figures reported for that study and platform; they should not be read as a verified current inventory.
What the comparisons show—and what they do not
The paper compares solid sorbents with monoethanolamine (MEA), a benchmark capture solvent, across selected modelled cases. Its findings are conditional rather than universal:
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| Modelled case or comparison | Finding reported in the 2024 Nature study | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Coal and cement cases | Some evaluated solid sorbents outperformed the MEA benchmark on selected measures. | This does not establish that solid sorbents are better on every KPI or at every coal or cement facility. |
| Natural-gas combined-cycle case | The reported comparison did not find a material with lower net carbon-avoidance cost than MEA. | The result applies to the study’s modelled case and comparison, not all natural-gas plants or future designs. |
| UK cement, temperature-vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA) | After optimization, the paper reports a net carbon-avoidance cost about €7 per tonne of CO2, or about 12%, lower. | This is a model-specific result for the UK cement TVSA case. |
| UK cement, temperature swing adsorption (TSA) | After optimization, the paper reports a net carbon-avoidance cost about €9 per tonne of CO2, or about 14%, lower. | This is a separate model-specific result for the UK cement TSA case. |
The figures for the UK cement cases are optimization results from the study, not measured savings from operating plants. They also do not imply that TVSA or TSA will deliver the same reduction elsewhere.
Why cost and climate rankings can disagree
Capture cost and net carbon-avoidance cost answer different questions. The study’s simpler capture-cost measure does not include lifecycle climate impacts in the way its net carbon-avoidance cost does. A process can therefore look attractive on cost while its energy supply, material requirements or other lifecycle burdens weaken its climate benefit.
Geography affects both sides of that calculation. In the study’s model, Switzerland’s hydro-dominated electricity supply lowered climate impact, while the cost of electricity affected economics. A site with cheaper or lower-emissions electricity can shift the result, but those advantages are not interchangeable: lower electricity emissions do not by themselves establish lower operating cost.
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For some evaluated material-and-process combinations, lifecycle climate impact exceeded 1 kg of CO2-equivalent per kg of CO2 captured. The paper associates such outcomes with factors including low working capacity, high material or energy requirements, and synthesis involving scarce, high-impact metals. This is a finding for some modelled combinations, not a claim that carbon capture as a whole increases emissions.
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Which criteria matter when matching a sorbent to a site?
A useful comparison starts with the whole application, not a single headline score. PrISMa’s case framing points to several questions that can change the outcome:
- What is in the gas stream? The CO2 source and concentration matter, as do water and other impurities. The study examines CO2, nitrogen and water in its materials layer, but actual flue gas can contain components not represented fully in an idealized model.
- What must the capture plant deliver? Required CO2 purity and recovery, along with productivity and energy demand, shape whether a material and process meet the application’s needs.
- How will the sorbent be regenerated? Process configuration matters. The paper includes temperature swing adsorption and temperature-vacuum swing adsorption cases, with results that depend on the specific case.
- What are the local utilities? Electricity price affects economics; electricity emissions affect climate performance. Both need to reflect the relevant region.
- What resources and lifecycle burdens are involved? Material use, including scarce or high-impact metals, can affect the environmental result as well as the practical case for scale-up.
- Can the material tolerate real operating conditions? Moisture sensitivity and mass-transfer limitations can change performance from idealized predictions.
- Is the candidate ready to scale? Durability, manufacturing and more detailed process evaluation are necessary questions before moving toward pilot and demonstration stages.
No single KPI resolves all of these trade-offs. The study reports that materials leading on one measure do not necessarily perform well on others, and that rankings change among natural-gas combined-cycle, coal and cement cases.
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Moisture, mass transfer and the gap between models and plants
The platform’s results are screening and modelling evidence, not field validation. In its non-ideal mass-transfer analysis, about 60–70% of the materials remained top performers. That percentage describes the study’s modelled analysis; it is not a rate of success in pilot plants or commercial operation.
Water can also alter the ranking. The study discusses how moisture slippage may undermine some materials with high affinity for water, even when other modelled properties look promising. And idealized gas assumptions cannot cover every flue-gas component or plant condition. In Chemistry World, University of Edinburgh mechanical engineer Hannah Chalmers cautioned that “modelling work can never fully replace going into the lab and doing stuff”. Pilot projects can reveal unexpected behaviour in real flue gas that a model or laboratory test does not capture.
What needs to happen before a promising result becomes a deployment choice?
A favourable modelled KPI is a way to identify candidates for further investigation, not proof that a sorbent is commercially ready. The study’s authors call for more detailed process modelling and investigation of issues such as sorbent durability and manufacturing before pilot and demonstration stages. The work therefore narrows and structures the search; it does not remove the need for experimental and operational evidence.
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Susana Garcia Lopez, lead co-author, put the climate test succinctly to Chemistry World: “You need to make sure that whichever material [and] process you use for capturing carbon, you are indeed capturing carbon and not emitting more.” That is why lifecycle assessment belongs alongside process performance and cost, rather than being treated as an optional afterthought.
Where the 2024 paper says its case results can be explored
The paper says results for its reported cases were deposited on Zenodo and that its interactive visualization tool is hosted on Materials Cloud, where users can inspect case studies and KPIs. It also says updates and new case studies will be made available through Materials Cloud. These are access routes reported by the 2024 paper; the present contents and update cadence are not established here. The authors state that software for the platform’s analytical layers is available from corresponding authors upon request.
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