A team at George Washington University in the US who are responsible for the discovery say their method is not only a cheaper way to produce the highly desirable material but also a productive use for one of the most problematic gases at the heart of climate change.
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At the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions, he said they are researching a way to absorb carbon dioxide from the air passively, and then store it- akin to the way a windmill is a passive device that uses blowing air to create electricity. Already, the substance is used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, high-end sports equipment and wind turbine blades, among other products, according to Licht. The new method could have big implications for the environment – if renewable energy is used to power the conversion process, it will be a particularly effective way to reduce carbon pollution levels.
A new study has shocked the scientific world with the finding that carbon dioxide in the air can be turned into a natural resource, which could end Global Warming as we know it.
In a report by MIT Tech Review, it’s claimed that this process could actually return the levels of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to pre industrial levels in just a decade. The researchers believe it’s possible global warming could be indirectly combated if carbon nanofibers became mainstream.
A team of chemists has said that they’ve figured out just such a way, developing a method to convert atmospheric CO2 into carbon nanofibers that could be used in industrial and consumer products.
His process requires only a little electricity, sunlight and carbon dioxide.
At its root, the system uses electrolytic syntheses to make the nanofibers.
Dr Paul Fennell, a chemical engineer and clean energy researcher at Imperial College London, said he would be extremely surprised if the idea turns successful to take CO2 out of the atmosphere and produce many carbon nanofibers to lessen the effect of climate change.
The heat and thermal energy generator equipped with an electrolytic cell breaks down the Carbon dioxide from the air at high temperatures of up to 750 °C in a bath of molten carbonates.
The scientists estimate electrical energy costs of this “solar, thermal, electrochemical process” to be around $1,000 per ton of carbon nanofiber product, which means the cost of running the system is hundreds of times less than the value of product output.
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The researchers demonstrated the ability to make a variety of different nanofibre shapes and diameters by adjusting specific growth conditions, such as the amount of current applied at specific points of time, and the composition of the various ingredients used in the process. “We are scaling up quickly”, he adds, “and soon should be in range of making tens of grams of nanofibers an hour”.
