[Jack]
SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE UNCOVERED A POWERFUL NEW WEAPON IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE… AND IT’S NOT WHAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT. IT’S NOT A NEW FORM OF RENEWABLE ENERGY. INSTEAD, IT’S A YELLOW POWDER.
THIS POWDER, KNOWN AS C-O-F 9-9-9, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAPTURE CARBON DIOXIDE FASTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN A TREE.
JUST HALF A POUND OF THIS POWDER CAN DO THE WORK OF A LARGE TREE OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR.
SCIENTISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, HAVE BEEN TESTING C-O-F 9-9-9 OUTDOORS, AND THEY’RE CALLING IT A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY. NOT ONLY DOES IT TRAP CO2 IN ITS TINY PORES, BUT IT DOES SO 10 TIMES FASTER THAN ANYTHING SEEN BEFORE.
THE POWDER, A COMBINATION OF TWO HYDROPHOBIC MOLECULAR STRUCTURES, CAN BE REUSED HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY EVEN THOUSANDS OF TIMES WITHOUT BREAKING DOWN. WHILE NOT A COMPLETE CARBON SINK, IT ACTS AS A FILTRATION DEVICE… REMOVING CARBON FROM THE AIR FOR IT TO BE RELEASED SOMEWHERE LESS DESTRUCTIVE TO THE ATMOSPHERE LIKE UNDERGROUND. AND IT ONLY NEEDS A SMALL AMOUNT OF HEAT TO RELEASE THE TRAPPED CARBON, SAVING MASSIVE OF ENERGY ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE.
THE RESEARCHERS ARE ALREADY WORKING TO MAKE COF-999 EVEN MORE EFFICIENT. THEIR GOAL IS TO PACK THIS POWDER INTO LARGE INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, WHERE IT CAN PULL CARBON FROM THE AIR AND STORE IT SAFELY UNDERGROUND.
IF SUCCESSFUL, THESE CARBON CAPTURE PLANTS COULD PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN REDUCING THE LEVELS OF CO2 IN OUR ATMOSPHERE.
THE CHALLENGE NOW LIES IN SCALING THIS TECHNOLOGY UP TO MEET GLOBAL NEEDS. CURRENTLY, PRODUCING THE MATERIAL ON A MASSIVE SCALE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO EXPEL MORE CARBON THAN IT CAN CAPTURE.
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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M JACK AYLMER.
