Science – Wu et al. (2025): Distributed direct air capture by carbon nanofiber air filters
Ronghui Wu, Hernan E. Delgado, Yi Xie, Yuanke Chen et al., IN: Science Advances, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv6846
The rising atmospheric CO₂ concentration is one of the biggest challenges human civilization faces. Direct air capture (DAC) that removes CO₂ from the atmosphere provides great potential in carbon neutralization. However, the massive land use and capital investment of centralized DAC plants and the energy-intensive process of adsorbent regeneration limit its wide employment. The authors develop a distributed carbon nanofiber (CNF)–based DAC air filter capable of adsorbing CO₂ downstream in ventilation systems. The DAC air filter not only has the potential to remove 596 Mt CO₂ year⁻¹ globally but can also decrease energy consumption in existing building systems. The CNF-based adsorbent has a capacity of 4 mmol/g and can be regenerated via solar thermal or electrothermal methods with low carbon footprints.