Global warming has become so etched in minds of everyone that almost everyone has an opinion about it. The discussions and debates can last long and basically they do not help things too much. The fact is that we are in urgent need of reducing our carbon emissions and we need to do that before we reach a point of no return. (That is, if we are not already there). Now we are hearing of new ways to tackle with this problem. Though I am not too convinced about industrial plants that absorb carbon emissions from the atmosphere, some seem to be pretty sure that it is the way to go.
The Atmospheric Carbon Capture Systems (ACCESS) Air-Capture System, developed by Global Research Technologies in Tucson, Ariz., holds sheets of material capable of capturing CO2 molecules directly from open air. The system not only captures atmosphere CO2, but it also stores it for a considerable amount of time. To remove the molecules, the sheets are sprayed with a chemical solution that bonds to the carbon dioxide. The solution is then drained off to a separation unit, where the CO2 is isolated as pure gas through electro-dialysis.
The design goal was to avoid using toxic or corrosive chemicals that would require special handling, so ordinary PVC pipe is used to transfer the solution back to a collection unit so that it can be recycled. The ‘Access’ aims to capture atmospheric carbon, but storing it and re-using it for long term purposes, will always be difficult. Instead of all this, maybe one would do just fine to plant a few trees and reduce on the carbon emissions. Access is a fine attempt, but the technology is a long way away from being anything substantial.
