Atmospheric carbon dioxide or carbon nanofibers can be produced

According to the "New Scientist" magazine, George Washington University research team recently that they developed a new process, can absorb carbon from the atmosphere and can convert it into nanofibers, nanofibers can be used as super-composite materials raw material, widely used in aerospace equipment, fitness equipment and sports cars, and other fields.

The research team leader, George Washington University, Stuart Richter (Stuart Licht), said the new process they can be designed to extract the active carbon content in the air, and turn it into nanofibers, nanofibers worth far higher than its production cost, priced at $ 25,000 per tonne, while the manufacturing cost is only $ 1,000 per ton. Richter said: "We are carbon dioxide into useful products, hope to have good market prospects." (1 US dollar equals 6.39 yuan)

Currently, the team developed a carbon fiber nano-scale has been successfully developed from a current of one ampere to 100 amperes. They need a new production process carried out in an electrolytic cell, the carbon in the atmosphere dissolved in a common industrial chemical lithium carbonate at the working electrode, the nanofibers will be "long" steel wool into a seemingly linear thereof.

Because the current from the currently used conventional energy, which may be offset by the potential of this technology in terms of carbon sequestration, the research team is trying to use solar power. Richter said: "In theory, if the scale of new technology, will greatly contribute to addressing climate change, according to our estimates, the amount of carbon dioxide removed one-tenth of the area of the Sahara desert area will let us in. return to pre-industrial levels in the atmosphere within 10 years. "

But many people do not believe such a bold prediction. Carnegie Institute of Science, Stanford University researcher Ken Kaerdaila (Ken Caldeira) questioned this solar energy into chemical energy economic viability. Caltech Nate Lewis (Nate Lewis) also said that the existence of so-called large-scale application of a limiting factor, and that is the location of the device atmospheric carbon dioxide may be depleted, concentrated extract carbon dioxide from the air somewhere, which means every hour of going elsewhere added carbon dioxide.

In this regard, Richter said that as long as there is air flow, can provide enough carbon dioxide to ensure continuous operation of the production. Currently the team is not intended to be used in large commercial areas of new technology, they are only interested in leading basic science.