Earth & Energy

A Team of Engineers Claims Artificial Leaf 100 Times Better in Capturing Carbon

Researchers developed a revolutionary carbon-capturing technology.

Published

4 years ago

January 31, 2022

Most environmental technology enthusiasts aim for the best carbon capture technology with the final point of artificial photosynthesis still to be discovered. The aim is to reduce the carbon footprint while producing needed or non-harmful materials. Despite all the efforts, the current methods still only work within lab conditions. However, University of Illinois Chicago engineers claim to have created a carbon capture technology that “works in the real world” according to their report.

What is this new carbon capture technology via artificial leaf?

While the name “artificial leaf” sounds good to the ear, the actual technology involves a “water gradient across an electrically charged membrane”. As the carbon dioxide is captured through the solvent to produce bicarbonate and then dissolves through the water-based solution, the process is accelerated through the electrically charged membrane. While being portable enough to “fit in a backpack”, the report claims that the technology is “100 times better than other systems” in terms of flux (rate of carbon capture/surface area).

While only spending around “0.4 kJ / h”, the performance of the device seems stellar. One of the researchers also said that “A small module of the size of a home humidifier can remove greater than 1 kilogram of CO2 per day”, which makes me think that this can actually turn into a mainstream environmental technology. This exciting innovation was also published in detail in the Journal of Energy and Environmental Science with the title “Migration-assisted, moisture gradient process for ultrafast, continuous CO₂ capture from dilute sources at ambient conditions”, so read it yourself and give them support.

Credit: Pixabay

Greener ventures

As mentioned in the previous article, “Nuclear Waste Repository: Here’s Sweden’s $19 Billion Investment“, nations, private companies, researchers are all striving for a green future. Seeing these outstanding fruits of research and genuine efforts to switch onto a sustainable model surely provide hope for everyone.

Maybe after the pandemic, the end of fossil fuels or any other turmoil on Earth ends, we can still enjoy great scenery from nature.