S2E25: The DAC-up plan for climate change—w/ Dr. Jen Wilcox of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

There is a temptation to believe that science and technology will save us from climate change, while we continue business as usual. But we have already emitted huge levels of CO2 into the atmosphere, and it’s going to take both carbon capture at the source and direct air capture (DAC) from ambient air to make a dent in the record atmospheric concentration of 415ppm we hit in 2019.

Dr. Jennifer Wilcox is the James H. Manning Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the author of the first textbook on carbon capture. Today, Dr. Wilcox joins Ross and Christophe to discuss the distinction between carbon capture in general and direct air capture specifically and explain why we need both strategies to succeed in reversing climate change.

Dr. Wilcox goes on to describe the two leading DAC technologies, solvents and solid sorbents, sharing how we might decide where to build plants and what tech to use in a given situation. Listen in for Dr. Wilcox’s insight on conducting a techno-economic assessment on systems that have yet to be deployed and learn how you can get involved in the ongoing advancement of carbon management.

Resources:

Nori on Patreon

Nori on Twitter

Purchase Nori Carbon Removals

Nori

Dr. Wilcox on Twitter

Dr. Wilcox on Google Scholar

Dr. Wilcox’s TED Talk

David Biello at TED

‘Cost Analysis of Carbon Capture and Sequestration of Process Emissions from the US Industrial Sector’ in Environmental Science & Technology

‘Cost Analysis of Carbon Capture and Sequestration from US Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants’ in Environmental Science & Technology

‘Cost Analysis of Direct Air Capture and Sequestration Coupled to Low-Carbon Thermal Energy in the United States’ in Environmental Science & Technology