To Eliminate Air Pollution, MIT Researchers Make A Device To Absorb CO2

The festival of lights leaves behind a toxic haze which causes breathing problems and suffocation.

Cities such as New Delhi and Ghaziabad have such a bad air quality that they become inhabitable. Researchers at MIT have come up with a device to suck in harmful CO2 in the air to fight air pollution and climate change.

Basically, the device is a large-sized battery. On top of the device, there are electrodes which will absorb harmful CO2 when it comes in contact with these electrodes.

The researchers coat these electrodes with a compound named polyantha quinone which is known for its ability to naturally attract carbon dioxide. During the charging process of the battery, a chemical reaction is created with the electrodes, causing the CO2 to be sucked in and cleanse the air.

Sahag Voskian, MIT’s post-doctoral student, said:

He further stated that all of this happens at ambient conditions, which means there is no need for chemical, thermal or pressure input. It is just extremely thin sheets which have both surfaces active. These sheets can be piled up in a box and then connect to an electricity source.

The researchers want this cleaning harmful CO2 technology to be re-utilized.

Alan Hatton, MIT’s Ralph Landau Professor of Chemical Engineering added that in his labs, he and his team had been trying to come up with new technologies to deal with environmental issues without having to use thermal energy sources, the addition of chemicals, or changes in system pressure to complete cycles of separation and release. This technology for capturing carbon dioxide is a great demonstration of how electrochemical approaches only need low voltage in order to power separations.