Direct Air Capture Facility Development and Technical Delivery Intensive Course

Course Introduction

Direct air capture (DAC) is an emerging carbon dioxide removal technology designed to extract carbon dioxide directly from ambient air and enable its subsequent storage or utilization. As governments, industrial organizations, investors, and climate technology developers pursue net-zero commitments and carbon removal strategies, the development of direct air capture facilities requires coordinated expertise in process engineering, mechanical systems, energy infrastructure, chemical handling, environmental management, carbon transport, and project delivery. The Direct Air Capture Facility Development and Technical Delivery Intensive Course provides a structured approach to developing DAC projects from concept evaluation and feasibility assessment through engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operational readiness. Participants will learn how to translate carbon removal objectives into technically credible, economically assessable, and operationally sustainable facilities.

Direct air capture projects face distinctive engineering and commercial challenges because atmospheric carbon dioxide is highly dilute, requiring substantial air processing and carefully designed separation systems. Facility performance depends on the selected capture process, sorbent or solvent characteristics, contactor configuration, air movement, regeneration requirements, heat integration, electricity supply, water availability, and environmental conditions. Participants will examine the differences between solid sorbent and liquid solvent approaches, including their equipment configurations, operating principles, regeneration requirements, material handling needs, and integration constraints. The course also explores how local climate, ambient humidity, land availability, utility infrastructure, construction logistics, and access to suitable carbon dioxide storage or utilization pathways influence site selection and project feasibility.

Developing a DAC facility requires the integration of specialized process equipment with conventional industrial infrastructure. Air contactors, fans, blowers, heat exchangers, reactors, regeneration systems, pumps, compressors, dehydration units, carbon dioxide purification equipment, storage vessels, utilities, instrumentation, and control systems must operate as a coordinated process. Participants will learn how to establish process design requirements, coordinate process flow diagrams and piping and instrumentation diagrams, manage equipment specifications, define battery limits, and control interfaces between technology providers and engineering, procurement, and construction contractors. Particular attention will be given to process integration, heat recovery, energy efficiency, materials compatibility, maintainability, modular construction, and the management of design changes that may affect capture capacity, energy consumption, safety, or delivery schedules.

Technical delivery extends beyond constructing equipment that can capture carbon dioxide. A successful facility must demonstrate reliable capture performance, acceptable energy consumption, controlled emissions, effective process safety, and traceable measurement of carbon dioxide captured and managed. Participants will examine commissioning strategies, process performance testing, instrumentation verification, mass balance reconciliation, equipment reliability assessment, and operational acceptance criteria. They will also explore how to establish carbon accounting boundaries that distinguish gross capture from net carbon removal by accounting for energy-related emissions, material inputs, transport, storage, and other relevant lifecycle impacts. The course emphasizes the importance of transparent assumptions, verified measurements, appropriate uncertainty treatment, and documented evidence when assessing the environmental performance of a DAC installation.

Commercial viability and environmental integrity are equally important considerations in DAC facility development. Projects may depend on long-term offtake arrangements, carbon removal credit agreements, public incentives, clean electricity procurement, carbon dioxide transportation infrastructure, geological storage capacity, and regulatory approvals. Participants will examine how capital expenditure, operating expenditure, energy prices, sorbent or solvent replacement, water demand, plant availability, financing structures, and carbon removal revenue influence investment decisions. The programme also addresses environmental permitting, occupational health and safety, lifecycle assessment, community engagement, water stewardship, waste management, carbon dioxide pipeline interfaces, and the requirements for monitoring, reporting, and verification. Emerging developments in modular DAC systems, advanced materials, renewable energy integration, digital twins, artificial intelligence-assisted optimization, and low-carbon industrial clusters will be considered within a practical project delivery framework.

By completing the Direct Air Capture Facility Development and Technical Delivery Intensive Course, participants will develop the knowledge required to evaluate, plan, construct, integrate, commission, and improve direct air capture facilities. They will strengthen their ability to coordinate multidisciplinary engineering teams, assess process performance, manage project risks, verify technical acceptance, and connect facility operations with credible carbon removal outcomes. Through applied case studies, engineering exercises, delivery planning, and performance verification scenarios, participants will develop a practical framework for advancing DAC projects while balancing technical reliability, economic feasibility, environmental responsibility, regulatory compliance, and measurable climate impact.

Duration

10 days

Who Should Attend

• Project directors and project managers responsible for developing direct air capture facilities, carbon removal infrastructure, and industrial decarbonization investments.

• Process engineers involved in carbon dioxide capture technologies, sorbent and solvent systems, gas treatment, thermal regeneration, and process optimization.

• Chemical engineers responsible for process design, mass and energy balances, heat integration, equipment sizing, and process performance evaluation.

• Mechanical engineers working on fans, blowers, pumps, compressors, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, piping systems, and rotating equipment.

• Energy engineers and utilities specialists assessing electricity supply, thermal energy requirements, renewable energy integration, heat recovery, and energy efficiency.

• Civil and structural engineers responsible for site development, foundations, equipment supports, modular plant layouts, access infrastructure, and construction interfaces.

• Instrumentation, control, and automation engineers developing process control architectures, measurement systems, safety instrumented functions, and performance monitoring.

• Environmental and sustainability professionals responsible for lifecycle assessment, carbon accounting, water management, environmental permitting, and carbon removal verification.

• Carbon capture, utilization, and storage specialists coordinating carbon dioxide conditioning, compression, transport, storage interfaces, and downstream utilization requirements.

• EPC contractors, construction managers, and commissioning professionals coordinating procurement, installation, construction quality, system completion, and operational handover.

• Project finance professionals, investment analysts, and commercial managers assessing capital requirements, operating costs, revenue assumptions, financing structures, and project bankability.

• Procurement and contract management professionals responsible for technology supplier selection, long-lead equipment, performance guarantees, and technical contract administration.

• Health, safety, and process risk specialists managing chemical hazards, pressure systems, carbon dioxide exposure, process safety studies, and emergency response planning.

• Carbon markets and carbon removal professionals involved in offtake arrangements, carbon removal crediting, measurement, reporting, verification, and environmental integrity.

• Consultants, researchers, and technical advisers supporting DAC feasibility studies, technology evaluation, facility development, industrial integration, and climate infrastructure deployment.

Course Objectives

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of direct air capture technologies, facility architectures, industrial infrastructure requirements, and the project lifecycle from concept development through commissioning and operations.

• Evaluate solid sorbent, liquid solvent, and other emerging DAC approaches according to capture performance, regeneration requirements, energy demand, process complexity, and technology maturity.

• Conduct preliminary site and feasibility assessments covering ambient conditions, land, water, energy supply, logistics, environmental constraints, carbon dioxide transport, and storage or utilization access.

• Translate carbon removal targets into preliminary process design requirements, capacity estimates, material and energy balances, equipment specifications, and facility performance indicators.

• Develop integrated engineering and project execution plans covering process design, mechanical systems, utilities, instrumentation, civil works, procurement, construction, and commissioning.

• Assess energy integration options involving renewable electricity, low-carbon heat, waste heat recovery, thermal storage, and other suitable energy arrangements for reducing operating costs and lifecycle emissions.

• Apply practical methods for evaluating capital expenditure, operating expenditure, plant availability, capture costs, maintenance requirements, revenue assumptions, and investment sensitivity.

• Establish process safety, occupational health, environmental protection, and emergency preparedness measures appropriate to DAC equipment, chemical systems, pressurized carbon dioxide, and facility operations.

• Develop procurement, construction, and interface management procedures that coordinate technology licensors, equipment suppliers, EPC contractors, utilities providers, and carbon transport or storage partners.

• Design commissioning and performance testing frameworks covering equipment functionality, capture capacity, energy consumption, process stability, emissions, mass balance, and reliability.

• Establish carbon accounting and measurement, reporting, and verification approaches that distinguish gross carbon dioxide capture from net atmospheric carbon removal over an appropriate lifecycle boundary.

• Prepare an integrated DAC facility delivery roadmap that combines technical acceptance, regulatory compliance, environmental integrity, operational readiness, commercial viability, and continuous performance improvement.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Fundamentals of Direct Air Capture and Carbon Removal

• Examine the scientific principles of atmospheric carbon dioxide capture and distinguish direct air capture from point-source carbon capture, carbon utilization, and geological storage.

• Explore the role of DAC within carbon removal strategies, climate mitigation pathways, industrial decarbonization, and corporate or national net-zero programmes.

• Compare major DAC technology families, including solid sorbent systems, liquid solvent processes, and emerging electrochemical or alternative separation approaches.

• Identify the principal technical, commercial, energy, environmental, and infrastructure constraints that influence facility design and project development.

Module 2: DAC Technology Selection and Process Architecture

• Evaluate solid sorbent systems according to adsorption capacity, regeneration temperature, cycle duration, material durability, humidity sensitivity, and process configuration.

• Examine liquid solvent systems, including air contactors, chemical absorption, solvent regeneration, heat requirements, material compatibility, and associated treatment equipment.

• Compare process architectures according to capture capacity, modularity, operating flexibility, equipment footprint, maintainability, and technology readiness.

• Develop technology selection criteria that incorporate vendor evidence, pilot data, scale-up risks, energy requirements, performance guarantees, and lifecycle operating considerations.

Module 3: Site Selection, Feasibility, and Infrastructure Readiness

• Assess potential sites according to ambient temperature, humidity, wind exposure, land availability, geotechnical conditions, access, environmental sensitivity, and construction logistics.

• Evaluate electricity availability, low-carbon heat sources, water supply, wastewater management, utility connections, and other infrastructure needed for reliable plant operation.

• Examine proximity to carbon dioxide conditioning, pipeline networks, shipping terminals, utilization facilities, or suitable geological storage infrastructure.

• Develop preliminary site feasibility reports documenting technical constraints, permitting requirements, infrastructure gaps, stakeholder considerations, and major investment uncertainties.

Module 4: Process Design, Mass Balance, and Energy Balance

• Develop preliminary process flow diagrams identifying air intake, contactors, capture media, regeneration, gas treatment, compression, utilities, and carbon dioxide product streams.

• Apply mass balance principles to estimate atmospheric air throughput, carbon dioxide capture rates, material circulation, moisture handling, and process losses.

• Establish energy balances covering fans, blowers, heating, cooling, pumping, compression, vacuum systems where applicable, and auxiliary equipment.

• Evaluate design assumptions and process sensitivities to determine how ambient conditions, capture efficiency, operating cycles, and equipment performance affect plant output.

Module 5: Air Contactors, Fans, Blowers, and Gas Handling

• Examine air contactor configurations, airflow distribution, pressure drop, contact time, capture media exposure, and their influence on process performance.

• Evaluate fan and blower selection using airflow requirements, static pressure, efficiency, operating range, noise, reliability, and electrical demand.

• Assess intake and discharge layouts, filtration, weather protection, dust management, moisture effects, and air recirculation risks.

• Develop equipment specifications and performance tests addressing airflow, pressure drop, mechanical integrity, vibration, energy consumption, and operating stability.

Module 6: Sorbent, Solvent, and Thermal Regeneration Systems

• Examine sorbent and solvent characteristics, including capture capacity, regeneration conditions, degradation, contamination, replacement intervals, and material handling requirements.

• Evaluate regeneration equipment such as thermal reactors, vacuum systems, heat exchangers, steam or hot-water systems, and associated process controls where applicable.

• Assess thermal integration options to reduce energy consumption, including heat recovery, thermal storage, process sequencing, and the use of suitable low-carbon heat sources.

• Establish monitoring and maintenance procedures for capture media performance, chemical losses, regeneration efficiency, waste handling, and long-term material reliability.

Module 7: Mechanical Systems, Piping, and Equipment Integration

• Develop mechanical equipment registers and specifications for pumps, compressors, heat exchangers, vessels, valves, piping, filters, and supporting utility systems.

• Coordinate process piping layouts, equipment spacing, maintenance access, materials selection, corrosion protection, insulation, drainage, and thermal expansion requirements.

• Examine carbon dioxide product conditioning, dehydration, impurity control, compression, pressure management, and interface requirements for transport or storage.

• Establish equipment inspection, pressure testing, flushing, leak testing, mechanical completion, and quality documentation procedures appropriate to each system.

Module 8: Electrical Systems, Energy Supply, and Decarbonization

• Estimate electrical loads for air handling, process equipment, compression, pumping, cooling, controls, auxiliary services, and facility utilities.

• Evaluate grid supply, renewable electricity procurement, dedicated renewable generation, power purchase agreements, and other suitable energy sourcing arrangements.

• Assess low-carbon thermal energy options, including waste heat, electrified heating, heat pumps where suitable, and other technology-compatible thermal supply arrangements.

• Develop energy monitoring and optimization strategies that account for hourly operating profiles, energy price volatility, equipment efficiency, plant utilization, and lifecycle carbon intensity.

Module 9: Instrumentation, Process Control, and Digital Operations

• Identify process measurements for temperature, pressure, flow, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, equipment status, energy use, and product quality.

• Develop control strategies for capture cycles, regeneration, airflow, thermal systems, compression, equipment sequencing, alarms, and safe shutdown.

• Examine supervisory control systems, historians, predictive maintenance, digital twins, and analytics for improving operating visibility and identifying performance degradation.

• Establish instrumentation calibration, control loop testing, data validation, cybersecurity, change management, and operational monitoring procedures.

Module 10: Civil Engineering, Modular Construction, and Facility Layout

• Develop facility layouts covering contactor arrays, process equipment, utilities, electrical rooms, control rooms, storage areas, maintenance access, and carbon dioxide handling facilities.

• Evaluate foundations, equipment supports, structural loads, wind exposure, drainage, road access, lifting areas, and other civil engineering requirements.

• Examine modular construction, prefabricated skids, factory integration, transport constraints, site assembly, and their potential effects on schedule and quality.

• Coordinate civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and process engineering interfaces to reduce construction conflicts and support safe commissioning access.

Module 11: Process Safety, Environmental Management, and Regulatory Compliance

• Conduct preliminary hazard identification for chemical exposure, thermal systems, rotating equipment, pressure systems, confined spaces, and carbon dioxide accumulation.

• Apply appropriate process safety studies, including hazard and operability reviews, hazardous area assessment where relevant, safety instrumented function analysis, and emergency scenario planning.

• Evaluate environmental requirements involving air emissions, chemical handling, wastewater, solid waste, noise, land use, water consumption, and community impacts.

• Develop regulatory compliance registers covering permits, environmental assessments, occupational safety, pressure equipment, chemical storage, construction, and applicable carbon dioxide transport requirements.

Module 12: Carbon Dioxide Conditioning, Transport, and Storage Interfaces

• Examine carbon dioxide purification, dehydration, compression, cooling, impurity limits, pressure specifications, and the requirements for downstream handling.

• Compare pipeline, road transport, rail, shipping, and on-site utilization options according to distance, throughput, cost, emissions, safety, and infrastructure availability.

• Assess interfaces with geological storage operators, injection facilities, monitoring systems, utilization plants, and relevant custody transfer arrangements.

• Establish delivery specifications, metering requirements, operating envelopes, emergency coordination, contractual responsibilities, and documentation for carbon dioxide transfer.

Module 13: Procurement, EPC Delivery, and Project Controls

• Develop procurement strategies for proprietary capture technology, long-lead equipment, bulk materials, utilities, instrumentation, construction services, and specialist commissioning support.

• Establish technical bid evaluation criteria covering process performance, energy use, availability, material durability, maintainability, delivery schedule, warranties, and supplier capability.

• Integrate engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning activities into a coordinated delivery schedule with defined interfaces and decision gates.

• Apply cost control, schedule monitoring, risk registers, change management, quality assurance, progress verification, and performance guarantee administration throughout project execution.

Module 14: Construction Quality, Mechanical Completion, and Commissioning

• Establish inspection and test plans for civil works, equipment installation, piping, electrical systems, instrumentation, insulation, pressure systems, and process utilities.

• Coordinate pre-commissioning activities, including flushing, pressure testing, instrument calibration, electrical checks, loop testing, control verification, and system turnover.

• Develop commissioning sequences for air handling, capture cycles, regeneration, thermal systems, gas treatment, compression, product measurement, and integrated process operation.

• Manage defects, punch lists, nonconformance reports, corrective actions, retesting, performance test evidence, and formal authorization for operational acceptance.

Module 15: Performance Verification, Carbon Accounting, and Commercial Evaluation

• Develop performance test protocols for capture rate, carbon dioxide product quality, specific energy consumption, water demand, operating stability, availability, and equipment performance.

• Establish measurement boundaries and carbon accounting methods that distinguish gross captured carbon dioxide from net removal after relevant lifecycle emissions are considered.

• Examine measurement, reporting, and verification practices, including instrumentation accuracy, mass balance reconciliation, data traceability, uncertainty analysis, and independent verification requirements.

• Evaluate project economics using capital cost, operating cost, energy prices, media replacement, maintenance, plant utilization, carbon removal revenue, financing assumptions, and sensitivity scenarios.

Module 16: Integrated DAC Facility Delivery and Operational Readiness Capstone

• Develop an integrated project execution plan covering technology selection, site readiness, process design, energy supply, construction, carbon dioxide handling, regulatory approvals, and commissioning.

• Prepare a technical interface matrix linking capture equipment, utilities, control systems, carbon dioxide conditioning, transport or storage partners, and operational responsibilities.

• Analyze a simulated performance shortfall involving excessive energy use, reduced capture capacity, regeneration instability, equipment downtime, or carbon accounting discrepancies.

• Present a facility readiness and performance verification package containing test results, operating procedures, risk controls, maintenance plans, carbon accounting boundaries, acceptance criteria, and improvement recommendations.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue 

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment:

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.