CO2 scrubber captures and turns carbon emissions into solid building materials

Imagine a machine that can capture carbon from emissions and turn it into a building material. That will be the end of atmospheric pollution and the beginning of a rave new world where we can breathe free. As Glen Beck, popular American radio show host, says, you don’t have to give up your car and your air conditioning. He adds that we may even be able to go back to “pre-industrial carbon levels.”

But he also tells us that environmentalists are opposed to the carbon scrubber. They want us to stop using fossil fuels in the first place, something which does not seem possible in the present scenario. And what about the fuel used to run these carbon scrubbers? That will lead to carbon emissions too. Why not grow more trees? They are nature’s carbon scrubbers and they’re free.
Scientists have been battling to reverse the devastating effects of climate change by inventing ways to trap carbon dioxide underground. However, the safety of such a method is questionable.
Gizmag reports an interesting and promising attempt at carbon capture in its April 2011 Michigan Technological University are currently working on their smokestack machine; their goal being to extract more carbon to turn into solid carbonates. The team hopes to collaborate with Carbontec Energy Corporation.
Komar Kawatra, Chairman of the Chemical Engineering Department at the Michigan Technological University, says:

Industry has a problem with CO2 capture and sequestration because it is an added cost with no direct benefit to them. But, if it is possible for industry to both capture CO2 and produce a product from the CO2 that they can sell, then they will be much more interested. Our goal is therefore to not only capture the CO2 at the lowest possible cost, but also to manufacture useful, marketable products.

Biotechnology Cuts Carbon Emissions
An article on Physorg from September 2010, profiles the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) bioengineer Angela Belcher who is experimenting with yeast to create building materials derived from carbon emissions.
According to Belcher, her system captures carbon dioxide “at a higher rate” and does not use chemicals, heating or cooling, thus making the process less expensive.
Yes, things are looking up. Meanwhile, let’s each of us plant a tree and do our bit in cleaning up our breathing space.
http://www.ecofriend.com/entry/co2-scrubber-captures-and-turns-carbon-emissions-into-solid-building-materials/