Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have created the least costly carbon capture method to date.
The new system is designed to fit into coal-, gas-, or biomass-fired power plants, as well as cement kilns and steel plants.
PNNL chemist David Heldebrant, who leads the research team behind the new technology says, “Instead of extracting oil from the ground to make these chemicals, we’re trying to do it from CO2 captured from the atmosphere or from coal plants, so it can be reconstituted into useful things. You’re keeping carbon alive, so to speak, so it’s not just ‘pull it out of the ground, use it once, and throw it away.’ We’re trying to recycle the CO2, much like we try to recycle other things like glass, aluminum and plastics.”