Cleaner, more efficient method for capturing C[O.sub.2].

• Position: TECH TALK

* Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a screening method that would use ionic liquids--a special type of molten salt that becomes liquid under the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius)--to separate carbon dioxide from its source.

This is a cleaner, more viable and stable method than what is currently available, said a Livermore news release.

Before C[O.sub.2] emissions from burning fossil fuels can be sequestered, they must first be separated from the source, a step known as "capture."

Currently, a handful of coal plants with commercial C[O.sub.2] capture capability use processes based on chemical absorption with monoethanolamine, a general-purpose solvent developed by chemists some 75 years ago. According to Livermore researchers, this method is corrosive, requires the use of large equipment, and effective only under low to moderate partial...