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Researchers in Japan Are Working on a New Carbon Capture Method That Promises to Be Much More Efficient and Faster
Seiji Yamazoe, a professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU), leads a team of researchers that has developed a method of carbon capture that removes carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. In a statement to the press, the researchers stated that the method has an efficiency of 99%.
Yamazoe’s team has been working on a liquid-solid phase separation system to capture carbon directly from the atmosphere. The system operates like a liquid DAC, where the gas is bubbled through a liquid solution, and instead of being trapped in the solution, the chemical reaction causes the trapped carbon to become insoluble and exit the solution as a solid.
Direct Carbon Dioxide Capture from the Air
Environmentalists hope that researchers can develop cheap and efficient technologies to avoid a climate catastrophe. To curb the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, many strategies are being applied, with direct air capture (DAC) being one of the most promising.
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While heat evaporates water from reservoirs and countries seek new areas for clean energy, Morocco is testing floating solar panels that function as an energy lid and also generate electricity.
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China occupies the desert with a 2 GW solar power plant in Inner Mongolia, installs elevated panels that create shade and humidity over the sand, and transforms a 2.96 billion kWh per year farm into an unexpected weapon against desertification.
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Saudi Arabia is building in Oxagon a US$ 8.4 billion mega green hydrogen plant with 4 GW of solar and wind energy, 5.6 million solar panels, and capacity to produce 600 tons per day, transforming the desert into one of the planet’s largest clean fuel factories.
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Germany and Denmark will transform Bornholm into a Baltic power island, connecting 3 GW of offshore wind power to the grids of the two countries via submarine cables and turning a real island into an international energy hub.
According to the International Energy Agency, captured carbon can be used in food processing or even in the production of synthetic fuels.
There are two main approaches to carbon capture. One approach is called ‘liquid DAC’, where air passes through liquid systems, generating a chemical reaction between a liquid solution and carbon dioxide, and this is trapped in the solution.
The other approach is called ‘solid DAC’, which uses solid filters that react with carbon dioxide and bind it to them. Both systems are reversible, meaning that the retained carbon dioxide can be released using high temperatures when necessary.
Solution for the Environment
Nowadays, direct air capture is one of the few technology options available to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere. This technology is the hope of many scientists who wish for the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere to be equivalent to the amount removed. Some sectors, such as aviation and industry, are much harder to decarbonize. Carbon removal technologies like DAC can be an important part of the set of technology options used to achieve climate goals.
Currently, several decarbonization systems are being implemented around the world; the problem is the loss of efficiency of the equipment used in these systems over time.
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