Chemists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a practical, energy-efficient method of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from air. They report their findings in Nature Energy. If deployed at large scale and coupled to geologic storage, the technique may bolster the portfolio of responses to global climate change.
“Negative emissions technologies—for net removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere—are now considered essential for stabilizing the climate,” said Radu Custelcean of ORNL, who conceived and led the study. This opinion echoes conclusions of a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences. “Our direct-air-capture approach provides the basis for an energy-sustainable negative emissions technology,” he added.
The accomplishment builds on a proof-of-principle study the chemists conducted last year, which was improved through a two-cycle process that dramatically enhanced the speed and capacity of CO2 absorption and that completely recycles both the amino acid sorbent and the guanidine compound.
To read more, click here.