Use of drone with sodium hydroxide carriers to absorb carbon dioxide from ambient air

Abstract

Global warming occurs when air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation, and as much as 80% of global warming is caused by carbon dioxide alone. Many metropolitan cities like Delhi, India have carbon dioxide (CO2) levels 11 times higher than the levels recommended by the World Health Organization. Prior research has mainly concentrated on removing CO2 from sources like automobile exhaust and industry effluents. However, there has been limited research pertaining to the use of hydroxides to reduce CO2 in ambient air. We therefore conducted experiments to identify the most suitable hydroxide in solid form to capture low concentrations of CO2. Furthermore, we explored the possibility of using an electrically-charged drone to reduce CO2 in the air using a solid hydroxide. Our results indicate that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is most suitable for scrubbing CO2 from air, with up to 90% reduction in carbon dioxide levels under the experimental conditions. Since the troposphere stretches up to 13 km above sea level and military drones can fly up to 18 km above sea level, drone attachments with CO2-absorbing chemicals could potentially clean the air at all levels in the troposphere. Our study provides a possible solution to mitigate the harmful impacts of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.