Carbon capture technology has made impressive progress in recent years, offering promising solutions to meet global emission targets. Researchers at Lehigh University and Tianjin University have created a hybrid sorbent called Polyam-N-Cu2 that has shown to absorb three times more CO2 than similar technologies. The scientists studied the sorbent’s feasibility by using seawater for storage and conducting direct air capture (DAC). Their findings showed that their efforts could enable a realistic and scalable way to capture materials that contribute to emissions.
One of the significant challenges of DAC is what to do with the CO2 after removing it from the atmosphere. The researchers suggest that their approach allows for transforming the CO2 into baking soda after adding some chemicals, which people could safely store in the ocean. Although the researchers have not conducted the experiment in real-life situations, this technique could prove energy-efficient and sustainable.
However, the number of carbon capture plants operating now is much lower than the number planned to be operational by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The data shows that there are only about 35 commercial facilities in this realm that collectively address around 45 megatonnes (Mt) of CO2 per year. Although more than 200 CCUS facilities are planned to be operational by 2030, only about ten projects have reached the final investment decision (FID) stage. Hence, funding is the critical factor that sets the foundation for people to execute their plans.
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People are trying to explore various ways to capture materials to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Direct air capture methods are still emerging, and one such collaboration has submitted a proposal for funding from the US Department of Energy. They aim to create a DAC location in southwest Louisiana where carbon gets pulled from the air and permanently stored underground.
On the other hand, the MIT group wants to take CO2 from the ocean than the air, which they believe would be more efficient. Their method involves membrane-free electrochemical cells that extract dissolved carbon dioxide from seawater. Three companies used DAC to store atmospheric CO2 in concrete for the first time by injecting CO2 into the process wastewater at a concrete plant.
Carbon capture technology is making strides towards meeting global emission targets, with researchers making notable progress in the field. The above examples highlight the potential of carbon capture technology, but further work is needed to develop a realistic and scalable way to capture materials that contribute to emissions.
