What to know

New Technique Turns CO2 Into Carbon

a new technique can turn co2 (carbondioxide) fro the air into carbon

A scientific breakthrough could help remove CO2 from the air and turn it back into coal.

Scientists have found a way to turn gas CO2 from the air and turn it into flakes of coal, which could help us fight the greenhouse effect.

Carbondioxied, more commonly known as CO2, is a harmful greenhouse gas that is very abundant in nature, and at increasing rates.

The new method was discovered by a team of researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and involves using liquid metal electrolysis to convert CO2 from a gas into solid particles of carbon.

In a report published in the journal Nature Communications, the teams explains how their method can “safely and permanently” remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

The most popular carbon capture techniques today involve liquefying carbon and injecting it underground. However, this could be costly and extremely dangerous to the environment should it leak.

By turning CO2 into carbon flakes, somewhat like coal, it can be stored and disposed of more easily, safely and efficiently.

“While we can’t literally turn back time, turning carbon dioxide back into coal and burying it back in the ground is a bit like rewinding the emissions clock,” RMIT researcher Dr Torben Daeneke said

The carbon created from the procedure can be applied into several other processes, and could even be used a electrode since the carbon becomes a electrically charged supercapacitor.

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