A research for Removing Carbon dioxide in air

An overview: Telecast on Discovery channel.

Caustic soda (NaOH) solution is a chemically stable product. It has affinity to Carbon dioxide in air forming Sodium Carbonate (Na₂CO₃).

2NaOH + CO₂ → Na₂CO₃ + H₂O

This principle is used in a research to trap CO2 from the atmosphere. It contains an 80m tall tower with several patterns of perforated steel sheets. A solution of Caustic soda poured from above while. The atmospheric air is blown through this vertical chamber from bottom to top with the help of blowers. The perforated steel sheets is to make the Caustic soda flow evenly providing large area for contact between Carbon dioxide in air and Caustic soda solution. The CO₂ in air is caught in the chamber leaving the air free from CO₂. The air thus left out is about 80% pure.

For this process to be successful, it should remove CO₂ more than it created. (i.e.) CO₂ produced for powering the setup.

This is not that all to be done. One more problem is how and where to collect and dump the CO₂ caught in the chamber. The CO₂ is freezed to solid and dumped by sending it below the sea beds. To do this they planned to follow an olden method followed to dump the nuclear waste under the sea.