A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge has been hard at work exploring new methods and materials for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through direct air capture, according to Anthropocene Magazine. Their solution? Electrically charged activated charcoal.
It is exceptionally porous, which gives it a large surface area, and it's already used in household purifiers to remove toxins and chemicals from water, according to a report published in the journal Nature.
The scientists tested the material in a cloth form and ran a charge through it, finding that hydroxide ions accumulated in the porous cloth. They then washed and dried it, creating a charged sorbent material that rapidly captured carbon dioxide from ambient air by reacting with the hydroxides.
Most carbon-capture materials must be heated to temperatures around 900 degrees Celsius to separate the harmful gas for storage. The charged charcoal only required temperatures of around 90-100 degrees, which can come from an electric charge provided by renewable sources.
Nature is also hard at work fighting the good fight, with oceans, forests, and plants removing about 45% of CO2 emitted through human activity each year, and we're bolstering those processes through conservation efforts.
Direct air capture plants are being created to help things along further. The world's largest recently went online in Iceland and uses clean geothermal energy to power its processes.
It successfully removes around 40,000 tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of taking 8,600 gas-guzzlers off the road. However, the costs involved may prove daunting for widespread adoption on a commercial scale, unlike the charged activated charcoal, which is a more efficient and affordable solution.
Some other projects are exploring their own twists on carbon capture. A Minnesota-based company called Carba is using a proprietary reactor to pull CO2 from the air and store it underground as a charcoal-like substance.
Others hope to transform the extracts into baking soda, cement, and mineral form for long-term sequestration.
In ongoing efforts to combat climate change, we need to focus on reducing the output of dirty fuels that pollute the environment and our atmosphere. At the same time, we need to work towards removing the planet-warming gases that are already released and causing havoc.
For now, we all need to do our part to limit or eliminate planet-warming pollution altogether. Every small step counts, whether it's installing solar panels, driving an EV, or simply unplugging electronic devices when they're not in use.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet.
Cool Picks
