Carbon nanofibres made from CO2 in the air

[Mark]

Carbon nanofibres made from CO2 in the air:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33998697

Scientists in the US have found a way to take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and make carbon nanofibres, a valuable manufacturing material.
Their solar-powered system runs a small current through a tank filled with a hot, molten salt; the fluid absorbs atmospheric CO2 and tiny carbon fibres slowly form at one of the electrodes. It currently produces 10g per hour. The team says it can be "scaled up" and could have an impact on CO2 emissions, but other researchers are unsure. Nonetheless, the approach offers a much cheaper way of making carbon nanofibres than existing methods, according to Prof Stuart Licht of George Washington University.

"Until now, carbon nanofibres have been too expensive for many applications," he told journalists at the autumn meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston. Carbon nanofibres are already used in high-end applications such as electronic components and batteries, and if costs came down they could be used more extensively - improving the strong, lightweight carbon composites used in aircraft and car components, for example. The question is whether the "one-pot" reaction demonstrated by Prof Licht and his team could help to drop that cost. At the moment 10g of nanofibres - like this sample Dr Licht brought to the conference - can be made per hour. The idea of turning CO2 from the air into useful products is a popular one, and the field is strewn with many more unfulfilled promises than success stories. But Prof Licht is confident his design can succeed. "It scales up very easily - the entire process is quite low energy."

Continues....

[kenneal - lagger]

When we can make a material as strong as a tortoise's or insect's shell using the same amount of energy as they do, or even a human bone, at ambient temperatures we will really be onto something. That must be our goal and would change our whole way of living from an extractive culture to a none extractive, sustainable one.

A move away from the addiction to loads of stuff would also help.

[Catweazle]

A way of taking carbon from the air and converting it into a carbon based construction material using the power of sunlight.

If it could make your dinner too it would be perfect.



Seriously though, making composite materials currently needs resins that are not environmentally friendly, even so-called "bio resins" are currently only 15% "bio" derived.

One for the future.