http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/09/21/10
GEOENGINEERING: Testing begins on device that captures CO2 from the air Published: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 A machine designed to suck carbon dioxide out of the air has taken shape on the University of Calgary campus in Alberta. The technology is not new, but for engineer David Keith and the venture capitalists who backed the project, the aim is to see whether this particular carbon extraction device can operate affordably on a large scale. "There were commercial processes that took CO2 out of the air, in fact, in the 1950s, so there's no mystery that we can do it," said Keith, a professor of public policy and applied physics at Harvard University. "So our interest is in building full-scale commercial systems that would take tens of thousands of tons -- or more -- of CO2 out of the air." Outside academia, Keith leads a startup company called Carbon Engineering, which is based on the University of Calgary campus. Some of Keith's colleagues have criticized his efforts to take CO2 out of the air, while he insists it's just a matter of the right engineering. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and a Canadian billionaire agree, and have donated $6 million to test out Keith's ideas. If the project succeeds, it could help mitigate the effects of climate change. "It provides a route to manage emissions from transportation," he says. "Transportation needs high-energy fuels, like hydrocarbons. It's very hard to replace those with batteries, and in some instances, like airplanes, you just can't." The machine works by drawing air into a 31-foot-long chamber filled with wavy plastic. Water laced with sodium hydroxide pours over the plastic, reacting with C02 to pull it out of the air. Once the machine is operating reliably, Keith will look at ways to sequester the gas. Even if this prototype is taken to scale, Keith acknowledges it won't be enough to affect the global climate. "I don't believe any one [technology] is the silver bullet," he said. "But I do believe we need to have a larger set of potential solutions to deal with the climate problem" (Richard Harris, NPR, Sept. 19). -- JP -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
