Imagine a device that can literally remove carbon dioxide from the air, thus reducing the global warming effect. Sounds far-fetched? Very soon, this may become a reality.

With the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere being 387 parts per million (ppm) - 40% higher than before the industrial revolution, as reported by scientists at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, the coming of this device maybe very good news.

Developed by a group of US scientists led by Klaus Lackner, a physicist at Columbia University, the prototype of the device is planned to be built and demonstrated within two years. The production cost of each prototype is estimated to be around £100,000 and each is small enough to be fitted into a shipping container.

Millions of these devices are required, 60 million to be exact as quoted by Dr Wallace Broecker, the man who coined the term global warming. These towers would be about 50 ft high and 8 ft in diameter and the estimated cost of these devices is about $600bn a year.

The devices uses a absorbent sheet called ion exchange membrane which is commonly used to purify water, to trap the carbon dioxide in the air. Humidity seems to be a crucial factor for these devices to work as the humid air can make the membranes release or “exhale” the trapped carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide can then be used in greenhouses to boost plant growth or maybe used to cultivate algae, for food and fuel.

This amazing discovery allows the team to qualify for the Virgin Earth Challenge, which pledges $25m to the inventor of a way to remove a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide gas form the atmosphere each year.

However, this device only acts to curb the current increase in the carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere and it cannot be viewed as a solution to counter global warming.

As quoted by Lackner:

“I’d rather have technology that allows us to use fossil fuels without destroying the planet, because people are going to use them anyway.”

A very viable invention in a time when global warming is a pressing issue. Hope to see it in place in the near future.

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