Booth Id:
ENEV065
Category:
Environmental Engineering
Year:
2024
Finalist Names:
Lowenthal, Jack (School: Pulaski Academy)
Abstract:
Biological Charcoal, or Biochar, is one of the most promising tools recently found for effective carbon capture and sequestration. Biochar is capable of binding to CO₂ through a process called physisorption, which loosely connects CO₂ to biochar's surface. Typical applications of Biochar utilize it as the final receptor for CO₂, however prior testing has shown that it can only absorb a relatively small quantity of CO₂, albeit at a fast rate. This project aimed to remedy this discrepancy by applying biochar not as a final receptor, but as an incredibly efficient intermediary. Facilitating this application, the hypothesis stated that if saturated Biochar were placed in an isolated environment, high-concentration CO₂ could be extracted with constant efficiency. To do so, this project required a two-fold goal: determining methods of on-demand carbon detachment, and applying these methods to establish high-concentration CO₂ storage. After varied experimentation, heating Biochar to above 90C was found to be the key to complete, on-demand CO₂ removal. Cyclic heating tests were conducted 6 times, revealing Biochar to be almost 99% efficient at reabsorbing CO₂. To apply this knowledge, a modified Boyle's law Apparatus was used to isolate and extract the pure CO₂. This proved to be highly successful, filling a 16g CO₂ cartridge from a vacuum to 1 atm in just 3 cycles of 20ml of biochar. Overall, this project highlights the viability of a novel form of carbon sequestration, which plays to Biochar's strengths and could be crucial in modernizing and accelerating the fight against climate change.