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Direct Air Capture Technology (DAC)
Context:
Last year, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions hit a record 37 billion metric tons. Consequently, direct air capture technology is gaining traction as governments use it to meet climate goals and combat climate change.
Direct Air Capture Technology (DAC)
- DAC technologies remove CO2 from the atmosphere for storage or utilisation.
- This captured CO2 can be permanently stored in geological formations or used to produce fuels, chemicals, and building materials.
- These methods can contribute to achieving net-zero or net-negative emissions.
- DAC is being recognised as a crucial technology in the fight against climate change, with over 20 operational plants and 130 more under construction globally.
Challenges and Solutions:
- Capturing CO2 from the air is costly because atmospheric CO2 is much more dilute than CO2 in flue gas from power stations or cement plants.
- This contributes to DAC’s higher energy needs and costs relative to these applications.
- A study from University of Colorado Boulder highlighted that common methods to reduce energy costs in DAC may not be practical.
- The study proposed an alternative method called reactive capture, which involves using electricity to regenerate solutions used for capturing CO2.
- However, research found that this method would not effectively regenerate capturing solution in industrial conditions, leading to minimal CO2 capture after multiple cycles.
- Researchers suggested incorporating electrodialysis into the reactive capture process.
- This addition could help maintain the solution’s ability to absorb CO2 and utilise renewable energy sources.
- Furthermore, the process could potentially convert captured CO2 into useful products, such as strengthening concrete, thus addressing multiple environmental challenges simultaneously.
Electrodialysis: It is a membrane-based process involving transport of ions through semipermeable membranes using an applied electric field.
- The process splits additional water into acidic and basic ions, helping to maintain the basic liquid’s ability to absorb more CO2.
- Electrodialysis can run on renewable electricity, making it a potentially sustainable way to turn captured CO2 into useful products.
Steps Taken by Government:
- India has developed a roadmap and a strategy for a Bio-based economy which is inching towards 150 billion USD by the year 2025.
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- This will facilitate infrastructure for Bio-manufacturing of low-carbon bio-based products.
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- National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
- Commitment to Net Zero: India is committed to achieve the Net Zero emissions target by 2070.
- Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act,2022, aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of the economy.
Way Forward:
- Innovation in CO2 use opportunities, including synthetic fuels, could drive down costs and provide a market for DAC.
- Early commercial efforts to develop synthetic aviation fuels using air-captured CO2 and hydrogen have started, reflecting the important role that these fuels could play in the sector.
- A start-up based in Mumbai has created an aqueous-based CO2 capture technology featuring a novel catalyst that is durable, cost-efficient, and scalable.
- This innovation enables the capture of CO2 from industrial wastewater, representing a noteworthy advancement in India’s adoption of eco-friendly technologies.