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DIY Carbon Capture Project

Let's clean up the air.

README first

We are a small team concerned about climate change. So we started this open project wich aims to find/create a DIY carbon capture device so that the majority of population can contribute in mitigating the effects of climate change. The goal is to make a small and simple project that can be implemented with minimum experience at household level.

Currently the resarch on DIY carbon capture technologies is scarce the available technologies are large and expensive. At the moment we research. We are in the explorative phase. We hope to find an angle that will allow us to create much simpler solutions. We try to organize our findings and current insights as accessible as possible in this project and these documents:

Documents

  1. General Research (below ↓)
  2. Deeper explorations of 4 possible solutions ← Click to access

Please help

Please help and share with us any other techniques or ideas that you think can be implemented by an individual with little or no previous experience. You can contribute by leaving a comment in this document (just mark a section you want to comment on and start typing.) We have a section with open questions ↓ below.

Update (project state):

This research was created during an internship at Mifactori. The internship is finished and the research not continued at the moment. We leave our research up for others to build upon. And we are still subscribed to this Pad and will curiously look at your comments and suggestions and might be ready to pick up this research again at some point.



1 List of Methods

Here is list of the existing or widely discussed technolgies/methods to capture CO2 from the atmosphere.

Technology How it works Helpful for DIY
1. Afforestation/reforestation (AR) The simplest and cheapest form of CDR is by growing trees, either in new areas that were not previously forested (afforestation) or restoring former forests (reforestation) This requires land. Who owns land/where to find land? In a way the smallest piece of land is in a flowerpot? ★
2. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) While plants store carbon, sequestration capacity can be increased by periodically “harvesting” the carbon and storing it geologically, by burning the plants (trees or crops) to produce bioenergy, combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Link_1 This technology is suitable only for people with vast agriculture areas having land for storages, also this technology cannot be used alone it has to be used in combination with other technologies to be effective. (NOT helpful for DIY)
3. Direct air capture of carbon, with storage (DACCS) Capture CO2 from the atmosphere by reaction with chemical solvents or sorbents, and then store the CO2 using carbon capture and storage (CCS) Link_1 Large scale technology requires big carbon collectors,a geothermal plant and the ability to pump the Co2 as carbonate minerals aroun 800 to 2000 metres underground.(Expensive & Industrial not for DIY) But we found an article by MIT that might make this more accissible for DIY? See below 'Electroswing Adsorbtion'
4. Soil carbon sequestration Managing agricultural land in such a way as to increase the retention of CO2 (in organic matter from plants and animals) in soil. Link_1, Link_2_(video) This is not a technology but a method by which nature holds CO2 in organic forms in the soil. It is only applicable to agriculture and forest areas and not in the concrete jungles that we live in.(Probably NOT for DIY - or can you also make this super small scale in a flowerpot?) ★ → See also "Deeper Explorations"
5. Biochar Growning trees and burning them in low oxygen conditions to form charcoal which is then spread in the soil. Link_1 Useful for carbon sequestration but no scope in DIY household projects. Unless you have a bigger garden in your backyard? ★ → See also "Deeper Explorations"
7. Enhanced weathering Crushing silicate rocks and spreading them over a wide land area: dissolved CO2 is then captured by chemical reaction. Link_1 Suitable for farmers and people with agricultural lands, requires no technology and easily implemented with minimal cost. Small scale garden application possible? ★ → See also "Deeper Explorations"
8. Ocean fertilization Adding nutrients – primarily iron – to the ocean so as to encourage phytoplankton growth, which absorb CO2 by photosynthesis. Link_1 A large scale operation that can be implemented by governments and companies.
9. Ocean alkalinisation Adding chemicals (calcium compounds) to the ocean that react with dissolved CO2 to form stable compounds, allowing the ocean to absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere. Similar to the above process can be undertaken by governments and companies not suitable at individual level.

There are more (see also the list of articles below). But these are the main things discussed right now.

  • Several techniques are also briefly mentioned and critically discussed in this short video.
  • A more in depth summary comparissions of several Carbon Capture solutions can be found here in this fact sheet collection by the "Institute of Carbon Removal Law & Policy"


2 Collection of Articles

Here is the list of sources or interesting resources we found so far and found worth keeping. Do you have something interesting to contribute? Please feel free to comment.

  • Name & Link | Contents | DIY relatability

–

  • Carbon Capture and storage Wikipedia | Carbon Capture and storage Processes with world wide projects and damage indicators| Can be read more extensively to used for DIY
  • Electroswing Adsorption System | MIT Engineers develop new way to remove carbon dioxide from air | Easy to construct and scalable
  • Paper on Electroswing Adsorption system | Detailed process on Electroswing Adsorption System | Scope for construction of DIY device but with little extra money for materials
  • Article on Carbon Capture prize money by Elon Musk | Elon Musk pledge to award $100 million for Carbon Capture contest | Motivation to pursue Carbon Capture technologies and may be a chance of winning the prize
  • 10 Carbon capture methods camparision | 10 Carbon Capture methods compared: costs, scalability, permanence, cleanness | Can be useful to decide which type of DIY project to build. Biological / Industrial
  • Solar powered CO2 scrubber | A different methodology concept to capture carbon using solar water heaters | Still a concept, yet to be tried.
  • List of available technologies (Carbon capture, Utilization & storage) by Aramco | Carbon capture technologies, value generation, circular economy, etc | Just a different way of thinking
  • Top 9 plants to absort CO2 | Areca Palm, Neem Tree, aloe vera and other plants that can be grown indore to capture CO2 | Incorperating plants into households might be a way
  • Carbon dioxide reduction | Video by Youtube Channel Just have a think talking about the various industrial firms and their plans to capture CO2 while comparing them. | World race for developing Carbon capture technologies
  • Net Expectations by Greenpeace UK | Greenpeace UK CDR breifing on future plans by gigantic companies to reduce/capture the carbon dioxide. Also comparision of various process with numbers indicating capturing capacities. | knowledge on some industial processes and opting for the best way to reduce carbon dioxide production.
  • Concrete Carbon Capture. A pathway to net zero? (Video) | The construction sector and especially concrete production is responsible for large parts of our CO2 emissions. The video discusses solutions for this. Can concrete even be used to pull CO2 out of the amphosphere? | Can you request that this cement is used in your project?

3 Open Questions/Problems

If you have answers or hints feel free to leave a comment. Just highlight the question and a text box will appear.

  • Is there any practical research done or a small scale project that has been implemented at household level? If there then please share.
  • One of the most significant question is regarding the costs of these technologies, it is expensive but how much ?
  • What about the maintenance and running cost, is it affordable for an average person ?
  • Would you as a consumer take out time of your daily life for maintenance of the technology ? (if built)
  • Often when the carbon is captured a new question arisises: How to store it?
  • If we are trying to downscale then some of the parts will be have to be custom built, this has a significant effect on cost.
  • Lack of availability of parts at the local hardware store.
  • Is regenerative agriculture a cheaper option ?
  • How many people can go through the daily/ weekly maintenance of these technologies, are carbon absorbing plants an easier and cheaper alternatives ?
  • If plants are used how to ensure the captured carbon stays captured? Are there any (building) materials made from plants that are easy to make and might help to make carbon useful longterm.

License

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License authorded by Dhruv Pande and Prahalad Aadepu during their internship at Mifactori (guidence by Lars Zimmermann)

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