Facility filters tons of CO2 in the middle of the ocean

Captura , a company of the California Institute of Technology, developed a system to separate CO2 from seawater and release the filtered water back into the ocean.

Simulation of a large-scale Captura facility to extract CO2 from seawater. Photo: Captura

The carbon filtration process will use Captura’s patented electrolysis process called Direct Ocean Capture (DOC). The company aims to remove carbon at scale at a lower cost than previous methods. The system will also use only renewable electricity and seawater as inputs to reduce its environmental impact, New Atlas reported on May 11.

DOC technology has the potential to filter billions of tons of carbon from the ocean. Accordingly, the purified seawater is fed into a filtration facility, which uses electrolysis technology to create acid. This acid is then added to the seawater, triggering a chemical reaction that separates CO2 from the water.

The process is accelerated by using a gas-liquid contactor (a type of electrical switch) and a vacuum pump, which creates a stream of CO2. This CO2 can then be sequestered or reused for other purposes.

The neutralization of the seawater is accomplished by adding alkalinity. The decarbonized water is then discharged back into the ocean. According to Captura, this water can then interact with the atmosphere to absorb as much CO2 as was initially filtered. This unique ability makes seawater desalination a powerful tool for mitigating the effects of climate change.

In 2022, Captura will build its first at-sea test facility in Newport Beach, California. The company will use a continuous flow of seawater to measure the performance of the system and make necessary improvements. Captura will continue to improve the technology in the future. The company also plans to work with AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles to build a second DOC system that can remove 100 tons of CO2 from the ocean each year.

Thu Thao (According to New Atlas )

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