New technology from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has found a way to pull carbon dioxide (CO₂) out of the atmosphere and put it into beer and other carbonated beverages.

Whilst the technology is unlikely to tackle global carbon emissions any time soon, it could reverse recent shortages in industrial supplies of CO₂. In a time where increasing levels of atmospheric CO₂ have become one the world’s most pressing issues, the gas is in global demand for purposes ranging from making fizzy beverages to food packaging and controlling the atmosphere in agricultural greenhouse. 

The technology, called Airthena, captures CO₂ from the air through advanced filtration using tiny sponges known as metal-organic frameworks. The technology was developed in a partnership between Monash University, Energy Infrastructure and Resources and H2H Energy. 

"As it requires just air and electricity to work, Airthena offers a cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally-friendly option to recycle CO₂ for use on-site, on-demand," said CSIRO project lead Dr Aaron Thronton in a statement. 

"It also provides a more reliable source of CO₂ for use in small-scale applications ranging from beverage carbonation to controlling pH in swimming pools, and industrial cleaning."

Carbon dioxide for industrial uses is generally either bought from a supplier or generated by burning natural gas onsite, which can be very expensive in both cases. In contrast, Airthena needs only about two kilowatt-hours of electricity to generate a kilogram of CO₂, equal to about 20 cents at minimum solar energy prices.

While Airthena won’t make any immediate impact on cutting global CO₂ emissions due to its scale, it will help businesses with a more reliable source of the gas for their everyday operations, while reducing their carbon footprint.

 

Positive Action

• If you’re a business interested in working with us to further develop this technology, visit CSIRO's Marketplace.
• Check out the range of clean energy solutions offered by our sister organisation Planet Ark Power.

 

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Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.