CAPTURING CARBON: THE ENVIRONMENTALLY - FRIENDLY VACUUM

The research is clear: if we want to avoid the disastrous effects of climate change, we must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Even with the mass production of solarpanels and wind turbines, reaching net-zero is going to require capturing large amounts of emissions from activities that are hard to decarbonise, such as making cement.

Enter: carbon capture. CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage) involves the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes, such as the creation of steel, or from the burning of fossil fuels in power generation, and burying it deep underground. In some instances, the captured CO2 can be repurposed to create products such as synthetic fuels and cement – an environmental recycling of sorts.

Carbon capture, however, does not come without its unique set of challenges – the immense cost of such technologies being one.

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