Garcia Oliver
Most industrial CO2 scrubbers use chemicals that don't meet your criteria.
Monoethanolamine (MEA) is used to scrub carbon dioxide from gas streams, but it's corrosive and toxic in very
small amounts.
Ascarite II
is a very efficient CO2 absorbent, but
it's basically
nonfibrous asbestos covered with sodium hydroxide.
Potassium superoxide is an interesting possibility for spacecraft and submarine CO2 scrubbing, since it regenerates oxygen as it reacts with carbon dioxide:
Calcium hydroxide (mixed with a small amount of sodium and potassium hydroxides) is used in most underwater rebreathers. The reaction between the hydroxides and CO2 is exothermic, and divers can tell from the warmth of the scrubber canister that the absorption reaction is working. Failure of the canister lid can give the diver a mouthful of hydroxides- called a "caustic cocktail" in diving circles. It's apparently a memorable experience.
You can learn more about the construction and chemistry of rebreathers here.
Related Links
Carbon dioxide sequestration | Technical information on programs and technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. http://www.fe.doe.gov/coal_power/sequestration/index.html (10/28/00) |
| Background information on climate change and its potential impact on human activities and recommended policies and technologies for limiting carbon dioxide emissions. http://www.unep.ch/iuc/submenu/infokit/factcont.htm (10/28/00) |
| Information on several different chemical techniques for purifying air and recycling wastes aboard spacecraft. http://marsacademy.com/lifes2.htm (3/21/99) |
| Details on several CO_2_ recycling technologies for life support systems, including lithium hydroxide absorption, molecular sieves, solid phase amines, and silver oxides. http://ucs.orst.edu/~atwaterj/co2.htm (3/21/99) |
| Outline of water generation from carbon dioxide using the Sabatier and Bosch processes. http://ucs.orst.edu/~atwaterj/h2o_gen.htm (3/21/99) |