Carbon Capture in Focus: Why Real-Time Gas Analysis Matters

Hiden Analytical highlights how real-time gas analysis supports CO₂ capture monitoring, sorbent studies and low-carbon process optimization.

With carbon capture attracting growing attention across research, policy and industrial decarbonization program, reliable analytical data is becoming essential for moving technologies from concept to application. Hiden Analytical is highlighting the role of real-time gas analysis in helping researchers and engineers understand, optimize and validate CO₂ capture processes as they progress from laboratory research towards pilot-scale and industrial development.

Carbon capture technologies are designed to prevent carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere by capturing CO₂ at source for storage, utilization or further processing. However, successful carbon capture depends on more than capturing CO₂ alone. Researchers and engineers must also understand what is happening inside the process, from gas composition and material performance to regeneration behavior, process stability and potential by-products.

Real-time gas analysis provides this insight by tracking how gas compositions change during adsorption, desorption, regeneration, reaction testing and long-term cycling. Typical applications include CO₂ adsorption and desorption studies, sorbent regeneration analysis, breakthrough curve monitoring, evolved gas analysis, TGA-MS carbon capture studies, chemical looping research and simulated flue gas experiments.

Hiden Analytical’s gas analysis systems support sensitive, fast and precise measurement of gases and vapors across carbon capture research and process development. By helping users monitor key species such as CO₂, O₂, H₂O, NH₃, CO, CH₄ and other process gases, Hiden instruments provide the data needed to evaluate material performance, refine experimental conditions and support more informed decision-making.

“Carbon capture is moving into a phase where process understanding is just as important as capture capacity,” said David Lundie, Technical Director at Hiden Analytical. “Real gas streams are complex, and researchers need to know how CO₂ and other species behave throughout the full capture, conversion or regeneration cycle. Real-time mass spectrometry gives teams the visibility needed to improve materials, optimize processes and build confidence in technologies designed to support lower-carbon industry.”

This need for detailed gas-phase insight is reflected in recent low-carbon process research. In a 2025 study evaluating chemical looping combustion of coke oven gas, researchers used an online Hiden Analytical HPR-20 mass spectrometer for real-time gas analysis during fixed-bed reactor testing. The study reported that the hydroforming-derived CuFe20C oxygen carrier achieved an average CO₂ yield of 97.77% and carbon capture efficiency of 93.64% across 100 cycles, demonstrating how real-time gas monitoring can support the evaluation of carbon capture-related process performance under demanding test conditions.

Hiden Analytical offers a range of systems relevant to carbon capture applications, including QGA 2.0, HPR-20 R&D and HPR-20 EGA. QGA 2.0 supports real-time, multi-species gas and vapor monitoring. HPR-20 R&D is suited to high-sensitivity research gas analysis, while HPR-20 EGA supports evolved gas analysis and TGA-MS workflows involving sorbents, thermal behavior and gas release.

As carbon capture projects continue to develop, robust analytical data will play an important role in turning promising concepts into measurable, optimized processes. Hiden Analytical’s gas analysis technologies help researchers and engineers see beyond the headline capture result and gain a clearer understanding of the chemistry, stability and performance behind CO₂ capture.

Visit Hiden Analytical’s Carbon Capture page to explore gas analysis solutions for CO₂ capture research, sorbent studies and process development, or speak to the team to discuss your application requirements.

Supporting Research Example

The supporting 2025 research example evaluated chemical looping combustion of coke oven gas using an online Hiden Analytical HPR-20 mass spectrometer for real-time gas analysis during fixed-bed reactor testing. Figure 9 of the paper presents average 100-cycle performance results, including CO₂ yield and carbon capture efficiency.