![]() ![]() ![]() One of the world’s largest plants built to remove carbon dioxide from the air in the struggle to lessen the impacts of climate change is operating in Adams County. But with the right policy incentives and market drivers, it may be one of a suite of measures that start reversing climate change.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu But not acting will bring far greater challenges: more climate and weather extremes, irreversible damage to biodiversity and ecosystems, species extinction and threats to health, food, water and economic growth.ĭAC technology undoubtedly faces stiff headwinds. The urgency of removing CO 2 from the atmosphere seems like an enormous challenge. It would create a new manufacturing sector and potentially re-employ workers displaced by the decline of fossil fuels. If DAC technology can overcome its hurdles, the benefits will extend beyond tackling climate change. The SGG project, with which I am involved, involves modular units potentially deployed in large numbers, including close to sites where captured CO 2 can be used in oil recovery or permanently stored. Australian company Southern Green Gas, as well as the CSIRO, are developing solar-powered DAC technologies. Australia also has some of the world's best sites in which to "sequester" or store carbon in underground reservoirs.ĭirect air capture is a relatively new concept in Australia. It has ample sunlight, meaning there is great potential to host DAC facilities powered by solar energy. ![]() It boasts large areas of land not suitable for growing crops. Credit: Carbon EngineeringĪustralia is uniquely positioned to be a world leader in direct air capture. If built, it would be the largest of its kind in the world. While the challenges to direct air capture are great, the technology uses less land and water than other negative emissions technologies such as planting forests or storing CO 2 in soils or oceans.Īrtist impression of a DAC facility to be built in the US state of Texas. However new DAC methods being developed could cut the technology's energy use. In fact, research has suggested direct air capture machines could use a quarter of global energy in 2100. The economic feasibility will be helped by the recent emergence of new carbon markets where negative emissions can be traded.ĭAC machines process an enormous volume of air, and as such are very energy-intensive. Big challenges aheadĭirect air capture faces many hurdles and challenges before it can make a real dent in climate change.ĭAC technology is currently expensive, relative to many alternative ways of capturing CO 2, but is expected to become cheaper as the technology scales up. Globally, the potential market value of DAC technology could reach US$100bn by 2030, on some estimates. The proponents of the Climeworks and Carbon Engineering technology say their projects are set for large-scale investment and deployment in coming years. The CO 2 is then concentrated, purified and compressed.Ĭaptured CO 2 can be injected into the ground to extract oil, in some cases helping to counteract the emissions produced by burning the oil. The air passes over a potassium hydroxide solution which chemically binds to the CO 2 molecules, and removes them from the air. Canadian company Carbon Engineering uses giant fans to pull air into a tower-like structure. ![]()
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