Fan Draws in the Air
Released CO₂ - Free Air
Filter is heated to release the captured CO₂
Stored CO₂
Released CO₂ - Free Air
Current Carbon Capture and Sequestration Systems
Most existing carbon capture and sequestration systems operate by using large fans to pull air into their systems or by extracting CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it in abandoned undersea oil fields.
While these systems may use renewable energy to achieve a net reduction in atmospheric CO₂, they have significant power demands to operate. Additionally, mechanical condenser methods are employed to compress CO₂ for storage and utilization, further adding to the energy requirements.
Concerns of Current DAC Systems
Energy Intensive
Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems require significant energy to operate. If the energy source is not renewable, these systems risk contributing to additional greenhouse gas emissions.
High Costs
The cost of capturing carbon dioxide using DAC is currently very high, making it an economically unviable solution for widespread adoption and scaling. The average cost per ton of CO₂ capture is approximately $600.
Limited Scale
Despite advancements, DAC technology is still in its early stages. It has not yet been deployed on a large enough scale to make a significant impact on global carbon emissions, with less than 1 million tons of CO₂ captured globally to date.