Researchers Testing Air-cleaning Technology, Carbon Storage
2023-02-10
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1A company in California is working with another in Canada to collect carbon dioxide (C02) and put it into new concrete.
2Carbon dioxide is a major polluter.
3The waste gas traps heat in the atmosphere, creating what is called the greenhouse effect.
4The companies are Heirloom Carbon Technologies based in San Francisco and CarbonCure Technologies of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
5They work on carbon dioxide capture systems.
6Their work supports the results of a study from the United Nations.
7It found that removing carbon dioxide from the air is as important to climate health as reducing the production of the gas.
8Some companies have systems that can remove carbon dioxide from the air.
9But then, the question is, where do you put it?
10Heirloom recently collected 30 kilograms of carbon dioxide gas from the air and transported it to Central Concrete.
11Central Concrete was able to put the gas into a new kind of concrete.
12The joint effort between Heirloom and CarbonCure was the first time that carbon dioxide taken from the atmosphere using such Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology had been secured in concrete, several scientists said.
13The waste gas will stay there for hundreds of years, they added.
14The amount of carbon dioxide the partners captured amounted to about as much as a car would produce in about 120 kilometers of operation.
15Julio Friedman is the top scientist at a company called Carbon Direct.
16It helps businesses reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
17He noted that the amount of CO2 contained in the project is extremely small compared to the overall amount that needs to removed.
18But, "that's how it starts," he said.
19Shashank Samala is Heirloom's chief. He explained the process, which involves limestone.
20"Limestone has this natural ability to pull carbon out of the atmosphere," he said, adding "what we do here is just give it more superpowers."
21Heirloom heats crushed limestone, which releases the carbon dioxide it contains.
22Then the limestone can capture more gas in the same way a sponge takes in water.
23The company then repeats the process multiple times to collect more of the polluting gas.
24CarbonCure mixes the gas with concrete's ingredients, which makes a stronger final product.
25The concrete does not even require cement, a usual additive to concrete.
26This helps also in the fight against carbon dioxide as cement production requires a lot of energy.
27CarbonCure also adds the gas to water that had been used to wash out concrete trucks.
28That water then helps create more concrete.
29The technology is promising but would require widespread use to to make a real difference in pollution levels.
30Samala guessed it would cost hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to establish enough centers and systems.
31He said he thinks companies that work in other pollution-reducing areas will support carbon capture projects like his.
32Building is a very polluting industry.
33Concrete alone accounts for eight percent of the world's carbon dioxide production.
34The leader of CarbonCure said the new processes would reduce concrete's carbon production by about five percent.
35Anu Khan is a science director at Carbon180, a group that works to reduce carbon pollution.
36He called the technology "a really thoughtful way to get around the current bottleneck of storage" for captured carbon.
37I'm Dan Friedell.
1A company in California is working with another in Canada to collect carbon dioxide (C02) and put it into new concrete. Carbon dioxide is a major polluter. The waste gas traps heat in the atmosphere, creating what is called the greenhouse effect. 2The companies are Heirloom Carbon Technologies based in San Francisco and CarbonCure Technologies of Halifax, Nova Scotia. They work on carbon dioxide capture systems. Their work supports the results of a study from the United Nations. It found that removing carbon dioxide from the air is as important to climate health as reducing the production of the gas. 3Some companies have systems that can remove carbon dioxide from the air. But then, the question is, where do you put it? 4Heirloom recently collected 30 kilograms of carbon dioxide gas from the air and transported it to Central Concrete. Central Concrete was able to put the gas into a new kind of concrete. The joint effort between Heirloom and CarbonCure was the first time that carbon dioxide taken from the atmosphere using such Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology had been secured in concrete, several scientists said. The waste gas will stay there for hundreds of years, they added. 5The amount of carbon dioxide the partners captured amounted to about as much as a car would produce in about 120 kilometers of operation. 6Julio Friedman is the top scientist at a company called Carbon Direct. It helps businesses reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they produce. 7He noted that the amount of CO2 contained in the project is extremely small compared to the overall amount that needs to removed. But, "that's how it starts," he said. 8Shashank Samala is Heirloom's chief. He explained the process, which involves limestone. "Limestone has this natural ability to pull carbon out of the atmosphere," he said, adding "what we do here is just give it more superpowers." 9Heirloom heats crushed limestone, which releases the carbon dioxide it contains. Then the limestone can capture more gas in the same way a sponge takes in water. The company then repeats the process multiple times to collect more of the polluting gas. 10CarbonCure mixes the gas with concrete's ingredients, which makes a stronger final product. The concrete does not even require cement, a usual additive to concrete. This helps also in the fight against carbon dioxide as cement production requires a lot of energy. 11CarbonCure also adds the gas to water that had been used to wash out concrete trucks. That water then helps create more concrete. 12The technology is promising but would require widespread use to to make a real difference in pollution levels. Samala guessed it would cost hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to establish enough centers and systems. 13He said he thinks companies that work in other pollution-reducing areas will support carbon capture projects like his. 14Building is a very polluting industry. Concrete alone accounts for eight percent of the world's carbon dioxide production. The leader of CarbonCure said the new processes would reduce concrete's carbon production by about five percent. 15Anu Khan is a science director at Carbon180, a group that works to reduce carbon pollution. He called the technology "a really thoughtful way to get around the current bottleneck of storage" for captured carbon. 16I'm Dan Friedell. 17Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 18______________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20superpower -n. usually a fictional person who has special abilities that humans do not have, like superman 21sponge -n. a piece of light natural or artificial material that becomes soft when it is wet, is able to take in and hold liquid, and is used for washing or cleaning 22bottleneck -n. something that slows down a process 23_______________________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. Do you think the technology will advance so it can be used around the world? 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.