A team of chemists has developed low-toxicity, highly effective carbon-trapping "sponges" that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Currently, carbon capture schemes aren't really ready for prime time, and are plagued by toxicity, corrosiveness and inefficiency.

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The most common carbon capture method today is called "amine scrubbing" and is being used in natural gas and coal-burning plants.

A team led by Emmanuel Giannelis, the Walter R. Read Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has invented a powder that performs as well or better than industry benchmarks for carbon capture.

They've been working to better produce safer carbon-capture method since 2008, and have gone through several iterations.

Silica scaffold is the latest step and contains nanoscale pores for maximum surface area. It's then dipped into liquid amine, which soaks into the support like a sponge and partially hardens.

The finished product is a stable, dry white powder that captures carbon dioxide even in the presence of moisture.

Solid amine sorbents are used in carbon capture, Giannelis said, but the supports are usually only physically impregnated with the amines. Over time, some of the amine is lost, decreasing effectiveness and increasing cost.

Researchers instead grew their amine onto the sorbent surface, which causes the amine to chemically bond to the sorbents, meaning very little amine loss over time.

The result was published in Nature Communications on December 12.

TagsGreenhouse gases, silica, amine scrubbing, Carbon-trapping 'Sponges', greenhouse effect