Method could revolutionise subsea CO2 removal

Prof Stan Kolaczkowski and his team from Chemical Engineering at Bath University are collaborating with mechanical engineers from Duke University in the US in developing a CO₂ removal system that uses sea water and Dixon rings in deep-sea submersible vehicles and other submersible human habitats.

The project is funded by a three-year grant worth £380,000 from the US Office of Naval Research (ONR).

At present, chemicals such as calcium hydroxide are used to chemically react with the CO₂. Although it is known that sea water has potential to absorb CO₂, the aim of this project is to develop a system that will be compact and work in a submersible environment where space is very limited.

Based on technology developed in 1948, Dixon rings consist of a fine wire mesh folded into a ring of approximately 3mm in size. The space in the wire mesh provides an extended surface area for the absorption of the CO₂.