Carbon reduction in the air with new technology
Swiss company Climeworks is opening the doors to Iceland’s first commercial carbon removal plant. It will filter nearly 4,000 tons of CO2 per year and allow for permanent carbon storage.
In order to remedy global warming, the Orca factory has the task of sucking and filtering CO2 from the air. A total of eight gigantic boxes are arranged in a “U” shape, all filled with fans that draw the outside air into a filter. So, the filter designed by Climeworks separates CO2 from the air, and then the carbon is mixed with water. Then, the final step in the process is permanent burial between 800 to 2,000 meters underground.
“The combination of pressure, humidity, and minerals turns CO2 into rock. We are simply accelerating the natural mineralization process,” says Christoph Beuttler, climate policy manager at Climeworks. Beuttler says he is confident in the process. He says, “Once it’s in the rock, nothing can release the CO2 into the air, not even an earthquake or a volcanic eruption.”
This is not Climeworks’ first project
In 2017, the Swiss company set up the first facility to capture and use carbon dioxide. Considered as a “global leader in CO2 extraction technology,” Climeworks sold this filtered CO2 to greenhouses at the time. The company also sold carbon to a bottling plant, owned by Coca-Cola, that made sparkling water.
According to Noah Deich, President of Carbon180,
” I think from the climate front, it’s become increasingly clear that we can’t just stop emissions, and that we also have to think about cleaning up the legacy CO2 that remains in the air from the past. And that means taking CO2 in the atmosphere, putting it back in the ground, and doing so in a way that’s pretty permanent. ” – Noah Deich, President of Carbon180, FastCompany.
A project that requires patience
Technologies invented to preserve the environment have taken many years to prove themselves. Mr. Deich, well aware of this reality, believes that
” It’s going to take decades, even if we do it at breakneck speed, to get to the place that starts to matter for climate. And so the fact that we’re starting today is really, really significant.” – Noah Deich, président de Carbon180, FastCompany.
For her part, Climeworks marketing manager Julie Gosalvez is also optimistic about the effect the Orca plant can have on the environment. “Every ton of CO2 captured in this plant is a ton that doesn’t immediately contribute to global warming,” she says.
Credits: robingileo via Pixabay
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