Researchers have invented a new, low-cost method for capturing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. Known as pressure-induced carbon capture (PICC), the process uses water and pressure to pull carbon dioxide out of exhaust gases before they reach the atmosphere, offering a cleaner and far less expensive alternative to traditional chemical methods.

PICC is the brainchild of Dr. Mark Holtzapple, professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University, and Jonathan Feinstein of ExcelThermic Enterprises. The men have filed patents for licensing the technology to power plants, hydrogen facilities, cement kilns, steel blast furnaces, and other industrial emitters worldwide.

Dr. Holtzapple says the amines used in traditional carbon capture systems are expensive and struggle to pull more than 90% of the carbon dioxide out of the flue gas. They also degrade when exposed to flue gases. In contrast, PICC uses physical absorption, and in the absence of chemical bonds, carbon dioxide pops back out of the water at reduced pressures just as easily as it dissolves in water at high pressure.

In operation, flue gas from combusting coal, natural gas, or biomass is first cooled and compressed. The high-pressure gas is then piped into an absorption column where it meets cold, downward-flowing water as it rises. The cleaned gas is released at the top, while the CO₂-rich water at the bottom flows through a series of lower-pressure vessels that let the carbon dioxide  bubble out. The released CO₂ is then compressed and prepared for permanent underground storage

According to the researchers, PICC can capture and compress 99% of carbon dioxide emissions for $26 per metric ton, or 100% for $28 per metric ton with the addition of lime. Other current technologies capture about 90% and cost $50 to $100 per metric ton.