Delhi’s air pollution answer may lie in distant Iceland

A system has been developed that captures CO2 and turns it into stone

rahul

Rahul Dass | December 14, 2017 | New Delhi


#Smog   #Air Pollution   #Delhi Pollution   #Delhi  
(Photo: Arun Kumar)
(Photo: Arun Kumar)

Had the situation not been so desperate, then the AAP government’s proposal to sprinkle water from helicopters would have been considered hare-brained. But, a more practical solution to tackling air pollution may well be around the corner and it lies in the success of a pilot project in Iceland.

At a geothermal power plant in Iceland, Climeworks, a startup, inaugurated on Oct 11 the first system that does direct air capture and verifiably achieves negative carbon emissions.

Although it’s still at pilot scale—capturing only 50 metric tons CO2 from the air each year, about the same emitted by a single US household or 10 Indian households—it’s the first system to convert the emissions into stone, thus ensuring they don’t escape back into the atmosphere for the next millions of years, said an article in the World Economic Forum
So, how does reversible absorption work?

The idea is to run a mixture of gases (air being the prime example) over a material that selectively absorbs CO2. Then, in a separate process, that material is manipulated to pull the CO2 out of it. The separated CO2 can then be compressed and injected underground. Typically there’s a limited supply of the absorbing material, so it will get put through the cycle once again to capture more of the greenhouse gas.

Last year, when the air had become toxic in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government formulated a plan to put in place three-tier air treatment system. It included setting up of wind purification units, mist fountains and virtual chimneys at five major traffic intersections.

During Diwali, when pollution worsened further, Times of India reported the government announced a plan to install outdoor air purifiers at five major traffic intersections -- Anand Vihar, ITO, Sarai Kalen Khan, Kashmere Gate and IIT (Delhi) or AIIMS.

This year, AAP government sought permission from the Centre to sprinkle water from choppers and it was ready to bear the expenses.

In some select areas, fire brigade sprinklers were put to use to help improve the air quality. Fire tenders from 50 of Delhi’s 53 fire stations sprinkled water to settle the dust.

All these clearly are knee-jerk reactions which cannot be sustained on the long run. Once a system that is being developed by Climeworks can be scaled up, then it can be put to use in Delhi.

Perhaps what is needed is to encourage innovation and ask technologists to develop similar reversible absorption systems. An out-of-the-box solution may well come from the students of IITs and other engineering colleges.

Indigenous technology would not only be a lot cheaper, it will be much easier to maintain, specially since it would be built by material that has been locally sourced. By using those systems, the ambient air quality of the national capital can be considerably improved.

Comments

 

Other News

India Post Payments Bank launches WhatsApp banking services

India Post Payments Bank, in collaboration with Airtel, on Friday announced the launch of WhatsApp Banking Services for IPPB customers, enabling them to access banking services on their mobile phone. The newly launched IPPB WhatsApp Banking channel will enable IPPB customers to seamlessly c

Leadership skills you should hone/develop to grow in life

American author, speaker, and pastor John Calvin Maxwell once said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. Leadership is a skill that some naturally possess, while some hone it over the course of their lives. When we think of leadership, our minds automatically drift to the s

India’s overall exports cross all-time high of $750 billion

India’s overall exports, including services and merchandise, have crossed US$750 billion, minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal has announced. This is an all-time high and this achievement comes in the 75th year of independence as we celebrate the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Addr

Climate actions being implemented to deal with impact of heat waves

India’s climate actions cut across various sectors and are being implemented through various programs and schemes of different union ministries, departments and state/ union territory governments.  The government of India through concerned ministries and departments organises workshops, exhibiti

Banks must hear borrowers before declaring their accounts as frauds: SC

In a judgment with far-reaching implications, the Supreme Court has held that the civil consequences of an account being declared as fraud under the Reserve Bank of India (Frauds Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks and Select FIs) Directions, 2016 or its Master Directions on Fraud amount to ci

India’s forest cover increases by 5,516 sq km in four years

The Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest cover biennially since 1987 and the findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per the latest ISFR 2021, there is a

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook    Twitter    Google Plus    Linkedin    Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter