What is Direct Air Capture and how will it help tackle the climate crisis?

Direct Air Capture is expected to have a considerable positive impact on the environment. By effectively using Direct Air Capture it has the potential to remove nearly 5 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year by the year 2055. 

What is Direct Air Capture 

Essentially, Direct Air Capture (DAC) uses giant fans to draw in air, from this, it bonds CO2 with bonding chemicals known as sorbents. After the sorbent is saturated, it is then heated to up to 100C to release the captured carbon dioxide. So, why is this necessary?

Many have argued that DAC is an essential part of climate change mitigation. Many researchers have suggested that DAC will play a key role in bringing the average temperature to below 2°C. 

DAC is basically used to recapture some emissions from distributed sources. For example, from rocket launches. 

What have been the results of DAC so far?

Right now, there are currently 18 DAC projects that are in operation globally. These are just in the demonstration phase but there are expected to be more deployed. 

The aim of one DAC project is to capture up to 1 million tons of CO2 per year, this can then be used for enhanced oil recovery. If the current market conditions persist, there could be around 70 DAC plans in just over ten years. 

The truth is, that researchers, engineers, environmentalists, and scientists are learning by doing. The results do look promising, though. 

Why is DAC important?

Carbon removal in this way is basically unavoidable, despite it being known for its expensive costs. 

The need to remove carbon dioxide is no secret. It is a necessary component in the fight against climate change. This was made clear in the UN report on climate change, which has now given a boost to these types of technologies as it became clear that current methods were not bringing down temperatures. 

Of course, there are other ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere, but technological solutions are needed as there is only so much land you can use to soak up all the greenhouse emissions. 

DAC is needed to reduce emissions that cannot be captured by more traditional methods. 

Other ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere

There are traditional ways that we can do to help tackle climate change. 

Planting trees, soil carbon sequestration, bioenergy, and enhanced weathering are all ways that we are currently fighting the CO2 issue, DAC is expected to become more and more popular as temperatures continue to rise. 

What are the setbacks? 

Of course, there is a major setback when it comes to DAC - the extensive cost. 

However, as more and more of the projects are deployed, the cost will be brought down. Supply and demand of equipment will bring the price down as they become more standardised. 

Regulations and Social Licenses could also get in the way of DAC being used. Despite these little setbacks, these projects are being implemented more and more, and governments all around the world are on board. 

In short, DAC is about to be used extensively to help tackle the issue of our warming planet. Find out more about how you can help reverse global warming through the use of DAC here.