Special Rail Cars Absorb Carbon Dioxide When Trains Break and Decelerate: New Study

Special rail cars are being developed to absorb carbon dioxide when trains break and decelerate, according to a new study led by researchers in the UK, in collaboration with a US-based rail company. The ground-breaking feat aims to mitigate the environmental repercussions of climate change by potentially cleaning the air of the harmful gas.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide is one of the most harmful airborne particles in the atmosphere. This is in line to its contribution to the greenhouse effect and global warming, resulting to the ongoing climate crisis. The chemical compound is also one of the key well-recognized particles targeted by climate mitigation efforts.

In recent years, climate change mitigation has centered around world governments and industry leaders on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in their respective countries or jurisdictions. Such measures are mandated under the United Nations-led 2015 Paris Agreement, where member states are required to achieve the common goal of reducing global temperatures down to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The onset of the 21^st century has marked the significant increase of the amount of carbon dioxide concentration in the Earth's atmosphere. The current condition has been a far cry to the pre-industrial levels. The rapid accumulation is also caused by natural factors but mainly due to industrial activities like the burning of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas.

Special Rail Cars

The study was published in the journal Joule on Wednesday, July 20, where a research team from the University of Sheffield in England collaborated with the Co2Rail Company to design the so-called Direct Air Capture equipment which can be installed in special rail cars along with running trains.

The team expects the said equipment can be applied to rail systems worldwide to help mitigate climate change by capturing the sustainable energy being generated when trains make a full stop or slow down.

Under the Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, the modified rail cars are allowed to separate carbon dioxide from the air through a chemical process. The greenhouse gas can then be stored and transported into the circular carbon economy.

In particular, the DAC technology allows the train's energy braking system to convert the locomotive's forward momentum into electrical energy. The process then removes external energy as a requirement for the charging cycles.

Carbon Dioxide Concentration

One of the bases of the so-called notion of 'human-induced climate change' is the increased production of carbon dioxide in the past several decades, especially after the Industrial Revolution of the 18^th century.

Since the star of the Industrial Age, humans have increased the amount of carbon dioxide by 45%, causing significant changes to our environment, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

In reiteration of the new research, its co-author Professor Peter Styring, stated that the direct capture of carbon dioxide from the air is an urgent necessity to avert the repercussions of climate change, as mentioned by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Styring is the University of Sheffield's Director of the UK Centre for Carbon Dioxide Utilization.