22 Apr UW–Madison’s ultra-efficient carbon capture tech earns top 60 spot in global XPRIZE challenge
For a planet increasingly ravaged by the effects of climate change, removing carbon from the atmosphere could be part of a desperately needed turn in the right direction.
Innovators worldwide participating in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition are racing to develop technologies that can harvest that carbon dioxide efficiently and lock it away. Now, from an initial field of more than 500 entries, competition judges have chosen a University of Wisconsin–Madison team’s solution among the most promising.
The team, Earth RepAIR, was among the top 60 groups, and one of only 21 teams focusing on direct air capture, in the XPRIZE competition, a $100 million global challenge funded by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation. The challenge is aimed at fighting climate change and rebalancing Earth’s carbon cycle — a critical need for action underscored in an April 2022 report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The multiyear, multistage competition concludes Earth Day 2025.
Teams eligible for the milestone award were required to demonstrate a working carbon dioxide removal solution, estimate its cost at full scale, and develop a plan for scaling and deploying their solutions at the megaton- and gigaton-per-year capacity. As a top-60 team, Earth RepAIR will receive support in a variety of areas, including legal, business, investment, demonstration sites and others, from XPRIZE.
The UW–Madison solution is an integrated system built around concepts pioneered by Bu Wang, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering, Rob Anex, a professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and a dozen undergraduate and graduate students in engineering, CALS, the College of Letters and Science and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
The team harvests carbon dioxide from the air via a simple chemical reaction. Essentially, they blow air over a solution of the chemical hydroxide and capture carbon in the form of carbonate ions. Next, in a method patented by Wang, they combine the carbonate solution with coal ash, which converts the captured carbon dioxide into fine limestone and activated silica particles; those can be upcycled into cement. Hydroxide is a byproduct of that carbonation step, and the team recycles it back through the system, where it’s used to capture more carbon dioxide.
Teknolojia ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. ya kuvutia ya U.S. Watafiti wa kimataifa wanaoshiriki katika mashindano ya Xprize Carbon Removal wanashindana kuendeleza teknolojia zinazoweza kukusanya kaboni dioksidi kwa ufanisi na kuifunga. Kati ya washiriki zaidi ya 500, waamuzi wa mashindano ya uchambuzi wa teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia. Earth Reperture ilikuwa moja ya timu 21 tu zilizoshiriki katika mashindano ya XPRIZE, changamoto ya kimataifa ya $ 100 milioni iliyofadhiliwa na Elon Musk na Musk Foundation. "Hatua hiyo inakusudiwa kupambana na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa na kusawazisha mzunguko wa kaboni ya Dunia, ""uhitaji muhimu wa hatua iliyoonyeshwa katika ripoti ya Aprili 2022 iliyotolewa na Jopo la Kati la Serikali juu ya Mabadiliko ya Hali ya Hewa." Mashindano ya miaka mingi ya hatua nyingi yanafikia mwisho wa Siku ya Dunia 2025. Timu zilizohitimu tuzo ya hatua muhimu zililazimika kuonyesha suluhisho la kazi ya kuondoa kaboni dioksidi, kukadiria gharama yake kwa kiwango kamili, na kuendeleza mpango wa kupanua na kupeleka suluhisho zao kwa uwezo wa megaton na gigaton kwa mwaka. Kama timu ya juu ya 60, Earth Repay itapokea msaada katika maeneo mbalimbali, ikiwa ni pamoja na kisheria, biashara, uwekezaji, maeneo ya maonyesho na wengine, kutoka XPRIZE. Ufumbuzi wa UW-Madison ni mfumo wa pamoja uliojengwa karibu na dhana zilizobuniwa na Bu Wang, profesa msaidizi wa uhandisi wa kiraia na mazingira katika Chuo cha Uhandisi, Rob Aenex, profesa wa uhandisi wa mifumo ya kibiolojia katika Chuo cha Sayansi ya Kilimo na Maisha, na wanafunzi kadhaa wa shahada ya kwanza na ya kuhitimu katika uhandisi, Chuo cha Hati na Sayansi na Taasisi ya Nelson. Timu hiyo hukusanya kaboni dioksidi kutoka hewani kupitia mmenyuko rahisi wa kemikali. Kimsingi, wao hupuliza hewa juu ya suluhisho la kemikali ya hydroxide na kukamata kaboni katika fomu ya ioni za kaboni. Wang alianzisha mbinu ya kuchanganya carbonate na majivu ya makaa ya mawe, ambayo hubadilisha kaboni dioksidi iliyochukuliwa kuwa mawe madogo ya chokaa na chembechembe za silika zilizoamilishwa ambazo zinaweza kutumiwa katika saruji. Hydroxide ni bidhaa ya upande wa hatua hiyo ya carbonation, na timu recycles yake nyuma kupitia mfumo, ambapo ni kutumika kukamata zaidi ya kaboni dioksidi.