A team of researchers at the Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences of Finland has invented a new technology to separate carbon dioxide from industry emissions, Finnish National Broadcaster YLE reported on Thursday.
Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas. Burning of carbon-based fuels since the industrial revolution has rapidly increased the carbon dioxide concentration in Earth atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change.
However, carbon dioxide is not all bad though. It can be used in many industries, such as food industry, oil industry, chemical industry and others.
Current techniques for isolating carbon dioxide from exhaust gas usually use hazardous chemicals, which may harm both the environment and human health.
The new method invented by Finnish researchers isolates carbon dioxide by percolating it through clean water, said the report.
Teijo Linnanen, the team leader told YLE that they dissolve the flue gas emissions in water and use low pressure to separate the carbon dioxide from the liquid as a gas.
With the new technology, missions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere are expected to reduce, and the captured carbon dioxide can be utilized in various industrial production.
VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland, believed that the invention is a promising technology, which can be applied to recover carbon dioxide from flue gas in an environment-friendly way.