Often Cited as Contributor to Air Pollution, Scientists Find Alternative for Industrial Sector

The industrial sector has been cited as one of the biggest contributors to air pollution. How have industry players actually handled it, and to what extent is the effectiveness of the methods they have implemented?

The industrial sector has in fact been doing various ways to overcome the air pollution it produces, namely the carbon capture and storage method.

The method works by absorbing industrial waste CO2 gas, so that the captured CO2 gas can be stored and not become pollution.

However, this method requires equipment with considerable energy and is expensive so that it cannot be used massively by the industrial sector.

A group of professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States at the end of August revealed that there is an alternative way to implement another method, namely through electrochemical cells.

An electrochemical cell is a series of devices containing chemicals that can be triggered to act using electricity or generate electricity. The reaction of these chemicals can then function as a CO2 gas absorber.

Reporting from the American Chemical Society, Professor from the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, Betar. Gallant said that CO2 gas can be captured by electrochemical cells made of liquid amine compounds in dimethyl sulfoxide solvent.

The electrochemical cell will react when electrified, so that the amine compound can react and capture CO2 gas. Then, the electricity in the electrochemical cell will be stopped and the amine compound will break the bond with CO2 gas.

The released CO2 gas can be stored so that it does not become pollution.

This CO2 gas storage can be done in two ways, namely stored underground or stored through the mineral carbonation method.

Thus, the captured CO2 gas will be reacted with natural minerals to form natural rocks.

Not only can it be an alternative to overcome and control pollution, this prototype also shows that less energy is needed so that it is more energy efficient.

Therefore, this carbon capture technology can be more effective and used massively to reduce CO2 pollution from the industrial sector.