Collecting Carbon Dioxide with Sea Urchins

Feb-08-13 Taking inspiration from the sea urchin, scientists may have developed a way to capture carbon dioxide, the key greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere.

The team, from Newcastle University in the UK, discovered that sea urchin larvae have high amounts of nickel on their endoskeleton, which they use to turn CO2 into calcium carbonate to create their exoskeleton. When the team added nickel nanoparticles to a carbonic acid test, the CO2 was completely removed, leaving only the useful and non-toxic calcium carbonate behind.

The team believes the discovery could lead to an inexpensive way for large CO2 emitters, such as power stations, to capture their waste CO2 rather than release it into the atmosphere.

Image: Toni Petrovic

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[GIZMAG.COM]
[NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY]

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