Lehigh Engineering researcher Arup SenGupta has developed a novel way to capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the “infinite sink” of the ocean.
The approach uses an innovative copper-containing polymeric filter and essentially converts CO2 into sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) that can be released harmlessly into the ocean. This new hybrid material, or filter, is called DeCarbonHIX (i.e., decarbonization through hybrid ion exchange material), and is described in a paper recently published in the journal Science Advances.
The research, which demonstrated a 300 percent increase in the amount of carbon captured compared with existing direct air capture methods, has garnered international attention from media outlets like the BBC, CNN, Fast Company, and The Daily Beast, and professional organizations like the American Chemical Society. SenGupta himself has been fielding interest in the technology from companies based in Brazil, Ireland, and the Middle East.
Read more at: Lehigh University
Lehigh University Professor Arup SenGupta (left) and PhD student Hao Chen are co-authors of a paper recently published in Science Advances that details an innovative approach to capturing carbon dioxide from the air using a new hybrid material called DeCarbonHIX (i.e., decarbonization through hybrid ion exchange material). (Photo Credit: Lehigh University)