Scientists Propose Creating Mechanical Trees to Suck Up Evil Carbon Dioxide
From futurism.com
2022-01-23 18:52:32
Abby Lee Hood
Excerpt:
If it’s a mechanical tree, does the Lorax still speak for it? Sure, the mechanical trees we’re talking about don’t have a disco mode like the Oak-amatic in the 2012 “Lorax” film, but they do have a big job — soaking up rogue carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
In a new interview published yesterday in Inverse, Arizona State University professor Klaus Lackner, a pioneer in direct air capture and carbon storage, explained his mechanical trees and the future of capturing CO2 directly from the air to stave off climate change.
“They’re tall vertical columns of discs coated with a chemical resin, about five feet in diameter, with the discs about two inches apart, like a stack of records,” Lackner told Inverse. “As the air blows through, the surfaces of the discs absorb CO2. After 20 minutes or so, the discs are full, and they sink into a barrel below. We send in water and steam to release the CO2 into a closed environment.”
Back in July of 2021, ASU announced that Lackner received $2.5 million in Department of Energy funding to work on his CO2 capture devices. At the time, Lackner was planning three farms that could soak up 1,000 tons of CO2 per day. According to Inverse, the first of these farms will open for business in April this year.
