carbon sucker

There is general agreement that we must develop technologies that can save us from the accumulation of greenhouse gases. One method of doing this is to suck carbon out of the air.  So a farm for algae or seaweed could be described as a carbon sucker with businesses buying credits to reduce their own carbon production to neutral. And of course planting more trees has always been touted as an option for removing more carbon.

 These are low-tech methods but a more recent high-tech carbon sucker is a device which can draw large amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air and either bury it underground or use it in other processes such as the production of fizzy drinks or the growing of vegetables.

 The device is a battery of fans which draw air through large pipes containing filters covered by a stream of sodium hydroxide. The carbon dioxide reacts with the sodium hydroxide, thus removing it from the air which flows back in its new carbon-free state. The next stage is to reverse the process at intense heat and liberate the carbon dioxide again so that it can be sent to the greenhouse or to the carbonated beverages plant.

 This particular carbon sucker has progressed from the development stage to real-life application though only on a small scale because expenses are still high.