Textile-based filter can capture carbon dioxide

It is found by the North Carolina State University researchers that they could filter carbon dioxide from air and gas mixtures at promising rates using a proposed new textile-based filter. The filter can combine cotton fabric and an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase.

The initial research shows that there is a possibility of developing new carbon capture technology that could reduce carbon dioxide emissions from biomass, coal or natural gas power plants.

The centerpiece of the research team’s design for a proposed textile-based chemical filter is the naturally occurring enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which can speed a reaction in which carbon dioxide and water will turn into bicarbonate, a compound in baking soda.

The enzyme plays an important role in the human body; it helps transport carbon dioxide so it can be exhaled.

The researchers then ran a series of experiments to see how well their filter would separate carbon dioxide from an air mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, simulating levels emitted by power plants.