carbon

The technology could strap onto existing gas turbines and make them more efficient—but it wouldn’t do away with their emissions entirely.

Create polished, shareable code screenshots with ambient themes, line highlights, freehand annotations, and one-click PNG export.

Equipment to capture carbon dioxide from ambient air or smokestacks generally works through a sort of reversible filter. Air is passed through granules or a liquid that absorbs the CO 2 , then that CO 2 -loaded substance undergoes a process (usually heating) that causes it to let go of all that CO 2 . The resulting gas can be collected in a separated stream. It’s also possible to do a similar sort of operation on a smaller scale—like inside a battery. A new study from a team led by James Buchen of the University of Delaware demonstrates an example of a battery-based electrochemical carbon-capture technique that they say is more viable than previous attempts. It has the potential to require less energy—and therefore be cheaper—than the reversible-filter designs that currently dominate. Carbon chemistry The basic idea behind a device of this type is that hydroxide produced at the battery cathode reacts with CO 2 , converting it to carbonate or bicarbonate that passes through the separator membrane to the anode. There, the lower pH causes the reaction to reverse, with carbonate turning back into CO 2 gas. The role of the cathode is to produce hydroxide ions; the role of the anode is to consume them. Read full article Comments