Battling CO2 Emissions At The Source!
By Jim • Mar 10th, 2008 • Category: Latest Green News
Researchers have developed a new, low-cost material for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants and other generators of the greenhouse gas. Produced with a simple one-step chemical process, the new material has a high capacity for absorbing carbon dioxide — and can be reused many times.
Combined with improved heat management techniques, the new material could provide a cost-effective way to capture large quantities of carbon dioxide from coal-burning facilities. Existing CO2 capture techniques involve the use of solid materials that lack sufficient stability for repeated use — or liquid adsorbents that are expensive and require significant amounts of energy.
“This is something that you could imagine scaling up for commercial use,” said Christopher Jones, a professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “Our material has the combination of high capacity, easy synthesis, low cost and a robust ability to be recycled — all the key criteria for an adsorbent that would be used on an industrial scale.”
Details of the new material, known as hyperbranched aluminosilica (HAS), are scheduled to appear in the March 19th issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.
Growing concern over increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide has prompted new interest in techniques for removing the gas from the smokestacks of such large-scale sources as coal-fired electric power plants. But to minimize their economic impact, the cost of adding such controls must be minimized so they don’t raise the price of electricity significantly.
Once removed from the stack gases, the CO2 might be sequestered in the deep ocean, in mined-out coal seams or in depleted petroleum reservoirs. If the CO2 capture and sequestration process can be made practical, America’s large resources of coal could be used with less impact on global climate change.
Jim is a full time video games journalist/geek, and the recent birth of his son has made him rethink his entire attitude regarding the environment and the future of the planet. Jim is MYG's resident news hound, so if you have a story please drop him an email.
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