‘Synthetic tree’ claims to catch carbon in the air
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- Story Highlights
- “Synthetic tree” would capture carbon dioxide in the air to reduce emissions
- Trapped carbon would be compressed to liquid C02 ready for sequestration
- Technology is being developed by scientists at Columbia University in the U.S.
- Broecker: “I think this is something that the world’s going to have to have”
LONDON, England (CNN) — Scientists in the United States are developing a “synthetic tree” capable of collecting carbon around 1,000 times faster than the real thing.
As the wind blows though plastic “leaves,” the carbon is trapped in a chamber, compressed and stored as liquid carbon dioxide.
The technology is similar to that used to capture carbon from flue stacks at coal-fired power plants, but the difference is that the “synthetic tree” can catch carbon anytime, anywhere.
