Chemists have made the best carbon capture material yet

A little over 1.5 cups of a yellow powder made of tiny porous polymer particles can capture as much carbon dioxide in a year as a mature tree.

Anthropocene Magazine | October 31, 2024

As hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires get more intense, it is increasingly clear that combating climate change will need every tool we have in our belt. One of those is capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from air.

But technologies that nab CO2 directly from air remain expensive, and it takes a lot of energy to release that captured CO2 for burial or use.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley now report a material that releases carbon dioxide at low temperature. The porous material is also unaffected by water or other contaminants. This makes the material stable and reusable, a key advantage over previous materials and one that could bring down carbon capture costs.