Carbon Capture with Tiny Bubbles
CBC Radio | Posted: February 27, 2015 9:00 PM | Last Updated: February 27, 2015
Carbon capture and storage could be one of the solutions to our fossil fuel greenhouse gas problems. Absorbing CO2 from smokestacks and burying it underground is feasible, but it's expensive and difficult, largely due to the carbon capture process, which uses caustic chemicals and consumes a lot of energy.
Dr. Roger Aines, leader of the Carbon Management programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, and his colleagues, have developed a new carbon capture technique using tiny silicone bubbles, filled with what is essentially baking soda.
These "microcapsules" are easy to handle, recyclable, and should be a much more energy efficient way to scrub carbon dioxide from fossil fuel power plants.