There is still hope for our planet if we can come together and seriously tackle climate change-and one of the most promising tools we have is the technology to pull carbon dioxide (CO₂) directly from the air. This approach, known as Direct Air Capture (DAC), offers a way to reverse the greenhouse effect we’ve created by removing CO₂ already in the atmosphere, not just reducing new emissions. The technology isn’t science fiction; it exists today and is ready to be scaled up.
Before this can happen, however, our species must address the elephant in the room: the fever of competition to make money above all else has caused our key industries to capture our mass media. As a result of this craze for power and riches, accurate information is often hidden from public view in favor of profitable information. You are not always being told the full truth. There are numerous documented examples of corporate influence distorting public understanding.
Beyond ownership, corporations exert influence through agenda-setting-deciding which environmental issues get attention-and framing, shaping how stories are told to emphasize business-friendly perspectives or downplay risks. This can lead to greenwashing, where companies promote superficial sustainability efforts while continuing harmful practices.
By supporting independent media, scientific literacy, and grassroots movements, individuals can help amplify truth and accountability.
What We Can and Should Be Doing
If our species cares more about survival than temporary wealth, there is technology currently available to start to reduce our growing environmental disaster. Carbon Engineering, a Canadian company based in Squamish, British Columbia, has been at the forefront of this effort since 2015. Their pilot plant has successfully demonstrated the ability to capture COâ‚‚ from ambient air, and since 2017, they have been converting that captured COâ‚‚ into low-carbon synthetic fuels. Unlike capturing emissions at power plants or factories, DAC targets the diffuse COâ‚‚ sources-like cars, trucks, and airplanes-that are otherwise difficult to mitigate.
The process works by drawing air into large “air contactors,” similar to industrial cooling towers, where a non-toxic potassium hydroxide solution chemically binds with CO₂ molecules, capturing them as a carbonate salt. This salt is then processed through reactors and calciners to release pure CO₂ gas, which can be compressed and either stored underground in secure geological formations or used to produce synthetic fuels and other products. Importantly, DAC facilities can be sited on non-arable land, avoiding competition with agriculture, and are most efficient when located near renewable energy sources and CO₂ storage sites.
Currently, Carbon Engineering’s DAC system can remove a ton of CO₂ from the air for about $100. Individual plants are designed to capture roughly one million tons of CO₂ per year. To make a significant dent in global emissions and reduce atmospheric CO₂ concentrations to safer levels by 2040, tens of thousands of such plants would need to be deployed worldwide. To put that in perspective, there are about 70,000 gas stations in the United States-so the scale is large but not unattainable.
The technology has attracted support from major figures and companies, including Bill Gates, Canadian Natural Resources Limited founder Murray Edwards, Occidental Petroleum, and Chevron. Carbon Engineering’s U.S. partner, 1PointFive, is actively developing megaton-scale DAC facilities, including a large plant in the Permian Basin, Texas, expected to capture up to 500,000 tons of CO₂ annually once operational.
Direct Air Capture as Part of Remediation
While DAC is currently energy-intensive and costly, ongoing improvements in capture materials and process efficiency promise to reduce costs and energy use. For example, Carbon Engineering’s Innovation Centre continuously tests new materials that could improve capture efficiency by about 20%, translating into further savings.
It’s important to recognize that DAC is not a silver bullet or an excuse to delay reducing fossil fuel use. Rather, it is a necessary complement to emissions cuts. The climate crisis is urgent, and removing legacy CO₂ from the atmosphere will be essential to avoid dangerous tipping points and stabilize global temperatures.
In summary, pulling COâ‚‚ from the air using proven Direct Air Capture technology is a critical and scalable tool in the fight against climate change. With increased investment, deployment, and innovation, DAC could help reverse the greenhouse effect and secure a sustainable future for Earth.
Syngas, Gasoline from Carbon Dioxide Removed From Air
Direct air capture (DAC) technology can extract COâ‚‚ directly from the atmosphere and convert it into synthetic fuels like gasoline, offering a promising path to reduce greenhouse gases while producing usable energy. Recent advances demonstrated in a novel gas-phase flow reactor use sunlight to capture COâ‚‚ onto solid amine adsorbents at night and then, during the day, photochemically convert the released COâ‚‚ into syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen), which serves as a precursor for synthetic fuel production-all without requiring high temperatures or pressures. This integrated process, powered by renewable energy, enables on-site transformation of atmospheric COâ‚‚ into carbon-neutral fuels compatible with existing engines and infrastructure, helping decarbonize sectors such as transportation and aviation. While still costly and in early stages, scaling such solar-driven DAC-to-fuel systems could play a vital role in closing the carbon loop and mitigating climate change by turning captured COâ‚‚ back into valuable, low-carbon gasoline and other fuels.
To produce syngas and gasoline from carbon dioxide captured directly from the air, several key steps and technological advances must come together:
1. Efficient Direct Air Capture (DAC) of COâ‚‚:
The process begins with capturing dilute CO₂ (~420 ppm) from ambient air using solid or liquid adsorbents. Recent innovations-such as solid silica-amine adsorbents in dual-bed flow reactors-enable CO₂ capture at moderate temperatures (80–100°C) using solar-driven photothermal heating, allowing continuous operation in a diurnal cycle (capturing CO₂ at night, releasing it by day)[13][14].
2. On-site Photochemical Conversion to Syngas:
Instead of compressing and transporting CO₂, the captured CO₂ can be converted on-site into syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) using photocatalysts activated by concentrated sunlight. For example, hybrid molecular–semiconductor catalysts (e.g., silica/alumina-titania-cobalt bis(terpyridine)) enable gas-phase CO₂ photoreduction at ambient pressure and temperature, using renewable energy and a reductant like ethylene glycol derived from recycled plastics[13][14][17].
3. Integration with Renewable Energy and Process Optimization:
Concentrated solar power provides the heat and light needed for both COâ‚‚ desorption and photochemical conversion, minimizing fossil energy use. System designs incorporate gas flow management, recapture of unconverted COâ‚‚, and modular reactors to improve conversion efficiency and catalyst longevity[13][14].
4. Downstream Syngas Conversion to Liquid Fuels:
The produced syngas serves as a feedstock for established catalytic processes like Fischer-Tropsch synthesis or carbonylative hydrogenation to produce liquid hydrocarbons such as synthetic gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel. These fuels are carbon-neutral when burned, as the COâ‚‚ emitted was originally captured from the atmosphere[13][18].
5. Techno-Economic and Scale Considerations:
While promising, DAC-to-syngas systems currently face challenges including high capital and operational costs, energy requirements, and catalyst durability. Techno-economic studies emphasize the need for integration with low-cost renewable electricity, optimized reactor designs, and carbon pricing incentives to achieve economic viability and scale[12][15][16].
6. Environmental and Practical Benefits:
This approach avoids the uncertainties and risks associated with underground COâ‚‚ storage, enabling on-site utilization and reducing transport needs. It also supports decentralized fuel production, potentially supplying remote or off-grid locations with sustainable fuels[17].
In summary, producing syngas and gasoline from CO₂ removed directly from air requires coupling advanced direct air capture technologies with solar-driven photocatalytic conversion and established fuel synthesis processes. Continued research, pilot demonstrations, and scaling efforts are needed to overcome current limitations and unlock this pathway’s potential for carbon-neutral fuel production and climate mitigation.
Read More
[1] https://carbonengineering.com/our-technology/
[2] https://carbonengineering.com/news-updates/
[3] https://carbonengineering.com
[4] https://carbonengineering.com/direct-air-capture/
[5] https://www.1pointfive.com/dac-technology
[6] https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2022-07-direct-air-carbon-capture-and-storage-for-aviation-explained
[7] https://carbonengineering.com/news-updates/multi-million-tonne-south-texas/
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuGW2lnvX1A
[9] https://www.iea.org/energy-system/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage/direct-air-capture
[10] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2667109324004639
[11] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/opinion/chiquita-banana-killings-colombia-auc.html
[12] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsenergylett.3c00885
[13] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01714-y
[14] https://hackaday.com/2025/03/21/producing-syngas-from-co2-and-sunlight-with-direct-air-capture/
[15] https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/88273.pdf
[16] https://www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/press-releases/2024/direct-air-capture-electrolysis.html
[17] https://hydrogen-central.com/syngas-solar-powered-device-captures-carbon-dioxide-from-air-to-make-sustainable-fuel/
[18] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212982021000548
[19] https://worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/banana-giant-financing-murder
[20] https://wp.nyu.edu/compliance_enforcement/2024/08/26/risks-of-cross-border-operations-chiquita-brands-international-found-liable-for-financing-terrorism/
[21] https://researchrepository.universityofgalway.ie/bitstreams/ade02e63-39c5-4974-a7da-88890ad03903/download
[22] https://www.rcfp.org/chiquita-sues-reporter-stealing-voice-mail/
[23] https://www.theenergymix.com/mcdonalds-failing-to-follow-through-on-climate-promises-critics-say/
[24] http://www.herinst.org/envcrisis/media/ownership/nbc.html
[25] https://tertulia.substack.com/p/update-on-the-chiquita-brands-court
[26] https://karmawallet.io/blog/2023/06/mcdonalds-sustainability-the-good-the-bad/
[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric
[28] https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/171956-chiquita-phone-hacking-scandal
[29] https://www.edf.org/impact/mcdonalds-saves-billions-cutting-waste