Researchers at the University of Berkeley in California have invented a material in powder form that absorbs carbon dioxide with astonishing performance. With just 200 g it can absorb 20 kg of CO2, the same as a tree in a year.
It’s called COF-999, which is short for Covalent Organic Frameworks. The term refers to a class of porous crystalline materials with large pores, high surface area, and low density. This makes them suitable for direct air CO2 capture (DAC). Given the alarming levels of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, this advance could be interesting
How does COF-999 capture carbon from the air?
The material was developed by a team led by Omar Yaghia professor of chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley and inventor of COFs, who has been developing materials like this since the 1990s.
COF-999 has pores with compounds called amines that can trap CO2 molecules. Its porous structure allows a large surface area to capture carbon, while its covalent bonds are incredibly strong. As ambient air passes through the dust, the amine polymers trap CO2.
Amine solutions in water have been used before to capture CO2, but COF-999 is better. For starters, it doesn’t need to be heated as it can capture CO2 at room temperature. Furthermore, it can be reused at least 100 times without degrading or losing capacity, and can selectively adsorb a large amount of CO2. In an interview he said that it also captures carbon dioxide “at least 10 times faster” than other materials.
Once the dust has captured CO2, it can be heated to 60ºC to release it. That CO2 can be permanently sequestered in underground geological formations so that it does not pollute… or used to produce materials such as concrete and plastic.
Can we start cleaning our air now?
There are already CO2 capture plants in operation, but they are expensive and consume a lot of energy. The World Economic Forum estimates that it costs between $600 and $1,000 to remove a ton of CO2 from the air… and would need to be reduced to less than $200 for the technology to be widely adopted.
As for COF-999, it needs more testing and refinement before it becomes widespread. It is estimated that around two years… but in that time it could be optimized to capture more CO2 and withstand more capture cycles before degrading. It is unknown how much it could cost, but the team insists that it does not require expensive materials to manufacture.
We currently only capture 0.01 megatons of CO2 per year worldwide, according to data from the International Energy Agency… and we should eliminate 85 megatons annually by 2030.
Fuente: UC Berkeley
More information: Nature
