U.S. researchers have developed a substance that can absorb C02 (carbon dioxide) out of smokestacks and tailpipes, according to a new study.
The researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) developed the CO2 sucker by synthesizing a new class of sponge-like crystals that can soak up carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas in industrial emissions, said the study published on Friday in the journal Science.
The crystals, dubbed zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, or ZIFs, are grids of metal atoms and organic molecules that loosely trap carbon dioxide as it drifts into microscopic pores.
The researchers believe that atomic charges hold the gas in place so that the gas could then be buried, thus preventing it from contributing to climate change.
One variety, called ZIF-69, is so absorbent that a single liter of the material can hold 83 liters of carbon dioxide, according to the study.
The crystals could be tailored to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, factories and other industrial sources, said UCLA chemist Omar Yaghi, who led the study.
The idea is to line the insides of smokestacks with a layer of ZIF. Carbon dioxide that enters the pores could be sucked out periodically and sequestered underground.
Yaghi said the material could also be used to line the exhaust systems of cars. When drivers fill their tanks with gasoline, they could also have the CO2 removed.
"That is a little bit more challenging than in the power plants," Yaghi said.
Capturing industrial carbon dioxide emissions is widely considered a key strategy for staving off global warming.
The leading method relies on a chemical reaction to trap CO2 in a toxic liquid -- a process deemed too expensive to implement on a commercial scale. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has estimated that retrofitting a power plant with such a system would make electricity at least twice as expensive.
ZIFs could bring down the cost, but more testing is needed to know for sure, said Thomas Feeley, a DOE technology manager who was not involved in the research.
Source:Xinhua
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