By Abbas Nazil
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a novel, low-cost carbon capture method that uses water and pressure to remove carbon dioxide from industrial emissions, offering a simpler and more affordable alternative to traditional chemical-based systems.
The process, called pressure-induced carbon capture (PICC), exploits a physical phenomenon similar to the bubbling observed when opening carbonated drinks, allowing carbon dioxide to dissolve in water at high pressure and later release under reduced pressure.
Co-inventors Dr. Mark Holtzapple and Jonathan Feinstein, have filed patents to license the technology to power plants, hydrogen facilities, steel blast furnaces, cement kilns, and other industrial emitters worldwide.
Holtzapple emphasized that PICC provides a practical and cost-effective solution to one of the most urgent environmental challenges, enabling near-total carbon removal from flue gases without relying on expensive and degrading chemicals such as amines.
In operation, flue gases from coal, natural gas, or biomass combustion are cooled, compressed, and passed through an absorption column where water flows downward and gas moves upward, maximizing contact.
Dissolved carbon dioxide in the water is gradually released through vessels at progressively lower pressures, allowing it to be captured, compressed, and stored permanently in underground geological formations like saline aquifers.
Economic analysis indicates that PICC can capture and compress 99% of carbon dioxide for $26 per metric ton, significantly lower than conventional methods that cost $50 to $100 per ton.
Adding a small amount of lime enables complete carbon capture at an average cost of less than $28 per metric ton, even removing carbon dioxide present in combustion air.
Holtzapple highlighted that PICC allows continued use of abundant fossil fuels while enabling carbon removal, and coupling the system with biomass combustion could remove atmospheric carbon cost-effectively.
The technology presents a pathway for industrial-scale carbon mitigation, offering both environmental benefits and economic feasibility for global adoption.
