US energy officials are optimistic that a new technology, originally developed for medical applications, will prove useful to ease concerns about global warming and
the U.S. Department of Energy has joined hands with the professors and students at West Virginia University, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University to explore the possibility.
Collaborating with the schools, Energy Department scientists are working on ‘electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly,’ or LBL, which is originally used to prevent infection in medical implants.
Though developed for medical applications, this technology, scientists argue, can lead to the creation of a sorbent technology for the capture of carbon dioxide.
The officials also believe that the collaboration would prove fruitful. The Energy Department researchers are expert at developing sorbents, the West Virginia University boasts of nanotechnology expertise and the University of Pittsburgh/Carnegie Mellon University have enough experience in reactor and process design, they said.