Carbon Removal Factories: Climeworks

Climeworks is one of 2022’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies identified by MIT Technology Review (https://www.technologyreview.com/).

According to its Website, Climeworks (https://climeworks.com/) “uses a technology called 'direct air capture' to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air. When the removed air is combined with underground storage, it allows the permanent removal of excess and legacy CO₂ emissions, which can no longer contribute to climate change.”

MIT Technology Review describes the technology thusly …

The facility, outside Reykjavik, Iceland, can capture 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. Large fans suck air through a filter, where materials bind with CO2 molecules. The company’s partner, Carbfix, then mixes the carbon dioxide with water and pumps it underground, where it reacts with basalt rock and eventually turns into stone. The facility runs entirely on carbon-free electricity, mainly from a nearby geothermal power plant.

While the complete description of this technology (as well as the other 9) requires a subscription to MIT Technology Review (or, you can visit your friendly public/academic library), a summary is available on the MIT Technology Review Website. The MIT newsletter The Download also features a summary.

The Download summary of Climeworks technology appears below.

TIP: Subscribe to The Download (https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/briefing-the-download/). The newsletter is free, and may inspire you to subscribe to MIT Technology Review.

///////
MIT Technology Review
The Download 23 February 2022
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2022

Every year, the reporters and editors at MIT Technology Review go through the painstaking process of compiling our list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies ( https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/23/1045416/10-breakthrough-technologies-2022/?truid=36d06cee295f2d97fb732a7572a23410&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=&utm_content=03-16-2022&mc_cid=7882477d24&mc_eid=76363cef0a) These represent the technological advances that we think will have the biggest impact on the world in the years to come. They span everything from medicine to energy to digital technologies, but they’re unified by one thing: we think they will affect our lives in meaningful ways.

Climeworks
Carbon removal factories could be a crucial weapon in the fight against climate change

In September, Climeworks flipped the switch on Orca, the largest plant to date that is designed to remove carbon dioxide from the air.

The facility, outside Reykjavik, Iceland, can capture 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. Large fans suck air through a filter, where materials bind with CO2 molecules. The company’s partner, Carbfix, then mixes the carbon dioxide with water and pumps it underground, where it reacts with basalt rock and eventually turns into stone. The facility runs entirely on carbon-free electricity, mainly from a nearby geothermal power plant.

Sure, 4,000 tons isn’t that much. It’s less than the annual emissions of 900 cars. And it’s a tiny fraction of the billions of tons of carbon dioxide the world will likely need to pull out of the atmosphere to prevent global warming from soaring past 2 °C over preindustrial levels. But it’s a start.

Read more about the facility, and learn about why carbon removal factories were selected as the 10th Breakthrough Technology on our annual list this year. If you’re curious, check out the 10 technologies, and vote for the technology you think deserves to be added to the list.
///////
Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/ for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at letters@jeansteinhardt.com with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/ to see examples of the services we can provide