Super Capacitor device

Context

Recently, Researchers developed a low-cost device that can selectively capture carbon dioxide gas while it charges. 

• The device has been described in the journal Nanoscale.

About Super Capacitor Device

• It is similar to a rechargeable battery, is the size of a coin, and is made in part from sustainable materials including coconut shells and seawater. 
  • When it discharges, the carbon dioxide can be released in a controlled way and collected to be reused or disposed of responsibly.
• It consists of two electrodes of positive and negative charge.
• The team tried alternating from a negative to a positive voltage to extend the charging time from previous experiments.
  • This improved the supercapacitor’s ability to capture carbon.
  • They found that by slowly alternating the current between the plates they can capture double the amount of carbon dioxide than before.
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Significance

• The super Capacitor could help power carbon capture and storage technologies at much lower cost. 
• The most advanced carbon capture technologies currently require large amounts of energy and are expensive.
• The charging-discharging process of super Capacitors potentially uses less energy than the amine heating process used in industry now.