Carbon Sequestration

One area where metal organic frameworks have real potential is in the field of carbon capture, which a team of researchers has demonstrated with a sponge-like device that adsorbs CO2 using just a third of the energy required by other methods.

Scientists at Newcastle University have happened upon a particularly promising example if a carbon capture technology, developing a low-cost membrane that assembles one of its own key components as it absorbs CO2.

As far as fighting climate change is concerned, "one whale is worth thousands of trees," the IMF has said. But reports suggesting that trees therefore pale into insignificance compared to whales are missing the point.

Researchers at MIT have developed a new method for pulling carbon dioxide out of a chimney flue at a power plant or even just ambient air. The new device is a specialized battery that absorbs CO2 while charging, then releases it for industrial use.

Capturing carbon from the air and sequestering it is emerging as a viable strategy, and now scientists have developed a new method to turn CO2 gas back into solid coal, that can then be buried, or even used for electronic components.

A promising new technology developed at Canada’s University of Waterloo hinges on a special kind of powder that could be applied as a filter at power plants to gather CO2 molecules at the source, and is claimed to offer double the efficiency of the materials that are currently available.​

Climeworks is a Swiss company at the vanguard of carbon capture technology, and having just completed a year-long pilot project collecting C02 at the world’s first negative emissions power plant, is rather optimistic about the way things are headed.

​It was back in 2011 that we first heard how Virgin Atlantic Airways was planning to use an eco-friendly aviation fuel made from captured steel mill waste gases. A successful test flight followed in 2016, and the fuel has now been utilized in a commercial flight for the first time.

​After opening the world’s first commercial Direct Air Capture (DAC) plant designed to pull CO2 out of the air, Swiss company Climeworks is now joining forces with a geothermal power plant in Iceland to create the world’s first “negative emission” power plant.

To reduce the severity of climate change, it’s not enough to just curb the rise in emissions –technologies that actively pull more CO2 out of the atmosphere will also be vital. To that end, a new CO2-filtering plant has just opened up near Zurich.

Dcientists at the University of Central Florida have come up with synthetic material that draws on visible light from the sun to produce solar fuels, sucking harmful CO2 out of the air in the process. ​

Carbon capture technology typically takes the form of sponge-like materials that are used to trap excess CO2 at the places it is released. Now, scientists have created a means of drawing it right out of the ambient air – and the technology involves using a liquid to turn the CO2 gas into crystals.