Photo of the Week: Can Clay Capture Carbon Dioxide?

As the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide continues to rise, scientists are attempting to solve the challenge of capturing it directly from the air. A Sandia-led team that includes collaborators from Purdue University is using powerful computer models combined with experiments to study how a type of clay can soak up CO₂ in its nanopores. Since clay is inexpensive and abundant, its use should reduce the cost of direct-air carbon capture. One possibility is that clay-based devices could be used like sponges, and then the CO₂ could be “squeezed” out of the sponge and pumped deep underground for storage.

Photo credit: Craig Fritz/Sandia