Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a low-cost way to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by combining cold temperatures with common porous materials. By tapping into the extreme cold from liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification a process already used at coastal terminals worldwide, the team showed that “physisorbent” materials can capture CO₂ more efficiently than current chemical-based methods. Cooling the air removes water vapor, which normally limits physisorbents’ performance. In tests, materials like Zeolite 13X and CALF-20 trapped CO₂ with up to three times the capacity of amine systems, and at a fraction of the cost. The approach could cut the price of capturing a ton of CO₂ to just $70 one-third of today’s typical costs. By reusing cold energy that’s usually wasted, this solution could make direct air capture viable in coastal and humid regions, helping to scale carbon removal to meet global climate goals
