Carbon dioxide is abundant in Earth's atmosphere and is believed to be one of the main drivers of man-made climate change, but a new technology could turn the harmful greenhouse gas into "diamonds in the sky."
A groundbreaking new technique could harvest CO2 and transform it into valuable carbon nanofibers that would be useful in the development of both consumer and industrial products, the American Chemical Society reported.
"We have found a way to use atmospheric CO2 to produce high-yield carbon nanofibers," said Stuart Licht, who leads a research team at George Washington University. "Such nanofibers are used to make strong carbon composites, such as those used in the Boeing Dreamliner, as well as in high-end sports equipment, wind turbine blades and a host of other products."
The researchers named the process "diamonds in the sky" because carbon is the material diamonds are made out of, and the technique could allow atmospheric carbon to be converted into an almost equally valuable material. The system uses electrolytic syntheses, which breaks CO2 down in a high-temperature electrolytic bath of molten carbonates at a scalding 1,380 degrees Fahrenheit. Atmospheric air is then added to the electrolytic cell. Once inside, the CO2 contained in the air decomposes, causing carbon nanofibers to build up on a steel electrode.
This type of carbon nanofiber growth could be achieved using about one volt of electricity at 750 degrees Celsius, which is considerably less than the three to five volts at 1,000 degrees used in the industrial production of aluminum.
"We calculate that with a physical area less than 10 percent the size of the Sahara Desert, our process could remove enough CO2 to decrease atmospheric levels to those of the pre-industrial revolution within 10 years," Licht said.
The findings will be presented at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
