'Scrubber' may clean air of CO2 emissions

Published on Saturday 31 May 2008 19:59

FOR those fearing the destruction of the earth through climate change, there is for once some good news: scientists claim to have made a major breakthrough towards developing a machine that can 'suck' carbon dioxide from the air.

If successful, the device will alleviate the environmental damage caused by billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases produced each year.

Led by Klaus Lackner, a physicist at Colombia University in New York, the US scientists plan to construct and test a prototype of the machine within two years.

Dubbed the 'scrubber' and small enough to fit in a cargo container, it will hopefully provide a cost-effective means of removing up to a tonne of CO2 each day from the air – roughly the equivalent amount produced by a transatlantic flight.

According to reports Lackner estimates each device will cost around 100,000, with all carbon emissions produced in its manufacture being easily offset by the amount each can capture.

However, while the scientists claim the 'scrubber' is a major innovation in the battle against climate change, they have stressed their invention does not provide a magic solution to the problem of CO2 emissions.

Millions of the devices would need to be produced to capture all global emissions, and the problem of disposing of the CO2 once it has been trapped still remains.

But with global consumption of fossil fuels continuing to rise despite international efforts, the team believes that the technology it is pioneering will be the most effective means of coping with global warming.

Speaking to a newspaper Lackner said: "I wouldn't write it across the front page that the problem had been solved, but this will help.

"We are in a hurry to deal with climate change and will be very hard-pressed to stop the train before we get to 450ppm (CO2 in the atmosphere]. This can help stop the train."

Scientists have previously been sceptical about the feasibility of air-capture devices, due to the large amounts of energy required to run them.

A 2005 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change raised severe doubts over the technology. It concluded: "In the absence of measures to limit CO2 emissions, there are only small niche opportunities for the deployment of CSS (carbon capture and storage] technologies."

However, the US team claims it has discovered a way to significantly reduce the amount of energy required to run the device. Reports indicate the technology is based around absorbent plastic sheets called ion exchange membranes that are routinely used to purify water.

The critical discovery the team is believed to have made is that humid air can cause the membranes to 'exhale' the trapped CO2, meaning they are then ready to be used again.

The quest for a machine that could combat the effects of fossil fuel consumption on the environment has come to be seen as the holy grail of climate science. Last year Richard Branson promised $25m (13m) to anyone who is successful through his Virgin Earth Challenge scheme.

The American team is reported to be developing a prototype of the device at a laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, run by a company called Global Research Technologies where Lackner is vice-president of research.