Eco Factor: Synthetic enzyme to help capture CO2 from coal plant emissions.
While researchers are trying to find the best places to safely store carbon dioxide underground, there are some who are working to refine the initial processes of carbon capture. New Jersey-based Carbozyme is taking help from human blood to develop a system to capture CO2 from mixed gas emissions for later sequestration.
An enzyme in our blood captures about two pounds of CO2 every day and converts it into bicarbonate for easier transportation to the lungs. The same enzyme then works in reverse and converts bicarbonate into the CO2 gas that we exhale. Carbozyme is trying to develop a synthetic enzyme that does the same but at a much larger scale.
The idea is to coat porous tubes with the synthetic version of the enzyme and let it capture CO2 from smokestack gases as they pass through the tubes. Based on lab tests, the system should use about a third less energy than other methods, while avoiding the hazardous chemicals typically used for the same process.
Via: Popsci
