Breakthrough sunlight-powered system captures carbon just like plants

Plants capture carbon dioxide naturally, using sunlight to grow and flourish. Scientists have now found inspiration from nature to develop a groundbreaking system that harnesses sunlight for capturing carbon dioxide from the air. This innovation addresses a significant challenge in current carbon capture methods: the reliance on fossil fuels.

Currently, efforts to combat climate change rely heavily on negative emissions technologies, particularly carbon capture. However, these methods paradoxically depend on fossil fuel-driven energy, leading to further environmental concerns. Developing renewable energy-driven carbon capture solutions has become a pressing need.

Sunlight, abundant and free, stands out as the ideal energy source, but existing methods have primarily captured carbon dioxide in darkness and released it under light exposure. This approach limits sunlight’s potential due to additional energy demands, including heat management when switching between dark and bright states.

Researchers at Cornell University have developed an innovative approach that distributes energy demands evenly across both carbon dioxide capture and release stages. Their technique uses a simple, affordable chemical called 2-methylbenzophenone, which can effectively absorb carbon dioxide under visible sunlight. By using a stable yet reactive enol molecule, scientists mimic plant-like processes, capturing carbon dioxide efficiently and sustainably.

Graduate student Bayu Ahmad, the lead author, proposed this innovative idea. Phillip Milner, an associate professor at Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences and senior researcher of the study, initially doubted the practicality of Ahmad’s concept. However, testing revealed that the system worked remarkably well.

"From a chemistry standpoint, this is totally different than what anybody else is doing in carbon capture," explained Milner. "The whole mechanism was Bayu’s idea, and when he originally showed it to me, I thought it would never work. It totally works."

The Cornell team put their system to the test using real flue gas from Cornell’s Combined Heat and Power Building. This facility, powered by natural gas, closely mirrors real-world industrial scenarios, making it an ideal testing ground.

The process successfully isolated carbon dioxide, even amidst impurities commonly found in industrial emissions. This step proved critical, as many lab-developed methods fail when confronted with real-world contaminants.

"We’d really like to get to the point where we can remove carbon dioxide from air, because I think that’s the most practical," Milner said. "You can imagine going into the desert, you put up these panels that are sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and turning it into pure high-pressure carbon dioxide. We could then put it in a pipeline or convert it into something on-site."

Beyond capturing carbon dioxide from industrial sources, the Cornell team envisions broader applications. Since gas separation accounts for roughly 15% of global energy use, improving methods in this field could significantly reduce energy consumption worldwide.

"There’s a lot of opportunity to reduce energy consumption by using light to drive these separations instead of electricity," Milner highlighted.

The process developed by the researchers uniquely captures carbon dioxide under continuous, stable conditions using only sunlight. This approach avoids the common pitfalls of traditional methods, such as the intense energy required to heat and manage the captured carbon dioxide. Importantly, the new method maintains constant temperatures, eliminating the need for energy-intensive heat regulation.

Another advantage of this discovery lies in its economic potential. The core chemical involved, 2-methylbenzophenone, is inexpensive and widely available. Researchers anticipate that optimizing benzophenone derivatives could further enhance the efficiency and solar compatibility of their method.

The discovery opens doors for future developments in renewable energy-powered carbon capture. By closely mimicking natural processes, this approach aligns environmental and economic benefits. The researchers envision solar-powered panels deployed globally, actively reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide and turning it into usable or storable forms. These advances mark a significant leap towards sustainable and effective solutions to combat climate change.

In an era where climate action has become a global priority, breakthroughs like this demonstrate how science and nature can work hand-in-hand. The Cornell team’s work is a promising step forward, highlighting the potential of solar energy in driving large-scale environmental change. As renewable energy technologies evolve, innovations like sunlight-driven carbon capture will likely play a crucial role in global climate strategies.

Solar-powered carbon capture offers hope for a cleaner future, leveraging nature’s own methods for human benefit. As scientists continue to refine and expand these technologies, sunlight may soon power carbon capture worldwide, drastically reducing our carbon footprint.

Research findings are available online in the journal ScienceDirect Chem.

Note: The article above provided above by The Brighter Side of News.

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