As the world struggles to implement technologies and find the political will to reduce carbon emissions, there are also ongoing efforts to find ways to capture carbon from emitting sources and from the atmosphere itself. After capturing carbon dioxide, there is then the need to safely store it or make use of it.
Current methods for capturing and then releasing carbon dioxide are expensive and energy intensive. In fact, some methods even require the use of fossil fuels. Recently, researchers at Cornell University have developed a method for capturing carbon dioxide that is powered by sunlight.
The Cornell method mimics the mechanisms that plants use to store carbon which involves using sunlight to make a reactive enol molecule that grabs carbon dioxide.
Existing chemical-based carbon capture techniques make use of amines, which are organic ammonia-derived compounds that react selectively with carbon dioxide. But amines are not stable in the presence of oxygen and don’t last, which necessitates the energy-intensive production of more and more amines.
The Cornell method uses the same method that the plant enzyme RuBisCo uses in photosynthesis. It is based on an inexpensive sorbent material that is capable of a high rate of carbon capture.
The researchers tested the system using flue samples from Cornell’s Combined Heat and Power Building, an on-campus power plant that burns natural gas. The system was successful in isolating carbon dioxide.
Ultimately, they would like to stage the reaction on what looks like a solar panel, but one that would capture carbon instead of generating electricity.
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In a first, system uses sunlight to power carbon capture
Photo, posted August 8, 2015, courtesy of Holly Victoria Norval via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
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