JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Scientists at the University of North Florida are researching ways to help with an increase in carbon dioxide that is contributing to higher global temperatures and climate change.
UNF scientists believe there is a way to separate carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, from waste and reuse it for new materials like construction supplies.
From fire extinguishers to carbonated drinks, CO2 is everywhere. But is also a greenhouse gas that traps heat from the sun and prevents it from escaping the atmosphere.
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UNF scientists Florentino De La Cruz and Doctor Benjamin Williams are on a mission to reduce carbon dioxide in the environment.
“You think about it like this, a bucket full of water and you left the faucet on for a very long time and you can no longer stop or reduce energy we need energy for our daily lives,” De La Cruz said.
De La Cruz and Williams are working to reduce CO2 by finding it in materials. They gather it from coal ash from coal combustion plants and landfills.
“We are using waste and putting added value into it,” said De La Cruz. “The goal is not harming the environment and potentially adding benefits.”
They start the process on a small scale by removing carbon dioxide from the coal ash.
According to NASA, there has been a 47 percent increase in carbon dioxide since the beginning of the Industrial Age, contributing to global warming.
Once the CO2 is removed, they want to place it in a permanent material.
“Can we store them in like cement products out of it like bricks and building materials? ” De La Cruz optimistically questioned.
The longer-term goal is massive. They want to remove gigatons of carbon dioxide, but are currently on a very small scale.
“We are on the scale of grams,” De La Cruz said.
Carbon dioxide removal has become big business, and if these scientists can remove CO2 from current waste and recycle it into sustainable building materials, it could be an answer to helping reduce the Earth’s excess heating.
In recent years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports have stated that normal climate targets cannot be achieved unless there is the removal of more carbon dioxide.
The grants provided to faculty by IERE are community-supported and funded entirely by donors. This year’s program is supported by the River Branch Foundation and Vulcan Material Company Foundation.