Researchers have been searching for an ideal substance that can soak up carbon dioxide in smokestacks before the greenhouse gas enters the atmosphere. Existing CO2 sponges have drawbacks: they may be too expensive, take too much energy to operate, do not capture much carbon or are unstable over long periods. However, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a solid adsorbent that is both strong and long-lasting.
It is constructed of nitrogen-rich compounds called amines grown on propours silica. The amines are bases that neutralize thea cidic carbon dioxide gas. Heating the substance releases trapped CO2 for later storage. The low-cost material has a hyperbranching structure, which helps it hold many amines, Jones explains, and the strong chemical bonds holding it together allow it to be reused often. The absorbing findings appear in the March 19 Journal of the American Chemical Society.
-Charles Q. Choi
Tags: Biology, Climate Change, Earth, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gases, Politics
