World’s largest plant, designed to suck carbon dioxide (CO2) from air and turn it into rock, has started operations in Iceland.
This plant is named as Orca, after the Icelandic word “orka”, which means energy.
The plant comprises four units which are made up of two metal boxes. They are similar to the containers used for maritime transport, in appearance.
Orca plant has been constructed by Switzerland’s Clime works and Iceland’s Carbfix.
As the plant starts operating at its full capacity, it shall draw 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from air each year.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that this amount is equal to the emissions from about 870 cars.
Orca plant uses fans to bring air into the collector which comprises of filter material inside. Once the filter material gets filled with carbon dioxide, collector is closed, temperature is raised and carbon dioxide is releases from the material to collect the highly concentrated gas. This CO2 is mixed with water and injected at a depth of 1,000 metres into nearby basalt rock where it is petrified.
These technologies have a huge significance as they can become a major tool towards the fight against climate change.
This technology is quite expensive and shall take decades to operate at larger scale.