Many scientists believe that in order to make meaningful progress in slowing climate change, we must remove excess CO2 out of the ambient air. There are a few (massive and expensive) projects that purport to do just that. This technology is called Direct Air Capture (DAC). It sounds great but there are questions about the cost and efficacy of the current technology. But a mind boggling development may be on the way that completely changes DAC. In their emailed newsletter, The Hill reported
“Chemists from the University of California, Berkeley, say they have devised a new type of material capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from ambient air — and doing so efficiently… Less than half a pound of the material could absorb as much CO2 as an average tree does, or about 44 pounds, according to lead author Zihui Zhou, a UC Berkeley graduate student.”
The abstract of the paper published in Nature went further: the material “was tested for more than 100 adsorption–desorption cycles in the open air of Berkeley, California, and found to fully retain its performance. COF-999 is an exceptional material for the capture of CO2 from open air as evidenced by its cycling stability, facile uptake of CO2 (reaches half capacity in 18.8 min) and low regeneration temperature (60 °C).”
I don’t often write about pollution control technology developments but this one could be a practical global solution especially considering its real-world operating parameters. Granted, there are questions about cost, scaling of production and deployment, ongoing maintenance needs (especially considering its speedy absorption rates) – and what happens to the absorbed CO2 when COF-999 is regenerated. Even so, this could be an empirically definitive way for removing atmospheric CO2 while avoiding controversy and risks around forestry-based projects. I’m looking forward to monitoring its continued development and testing.
Members can learn more about climate issues here.
If you aren’t already subscribed to our complimentary ESG blog, sign up here for daily updates delivered right to you.
