Northwestern Researchers Advance Low-Cost Carbon Capture Using Abundant, Eco-Friendly Materials

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Researchers at Northwestern University have taken a major step forward in the development of affordable and scalable carbon capture technologies by identifying a range of readily available materials that can efficiently extract CO₂ directly from the air. Their study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, outlines how materials like activated carbon, nanostructured graphite, and various metal oxides can support a promising technique called moisture-swing direct air capture (DAC).

Moisture-swing DAC captures carbon dioxide from the air when humidity is low and releases it when humidity is high—offering a more energy-efficient alternative to conventional methods that require high heat to regenerate sorbent materials. Until now, the scalability of this approach has been limited due to its reliance on expensive and engineered ion exchange resins.

“Our work identifies a suite of sustainable, low-cost materials—many of which can be sourced from natural or waste feedstocks—that significantly expand the options for moisture-swing carbon capture,” said John Hegarty, a materials science Ph.D. candidate and co-first author of the study.

Using a structured experimental framework, the team evaluated several carbonaceous and metal oxide materials. They found that aluminum oxide and activated carbon exhibited the fastest CO₂ capture kinetics, while iron oxide and nanostructured graphite offered the highest capture capacity. The study also revealed that materials with pore sizes in the range of 50 to 150 angstroms performed best, correlating larger surface areas within pores to higher CO₂ storage capability.

“This is the first time we've applied a systematic approach to understand how different materials behave under moisture-swing conditions,” said Benjamin Shindel, a Ph.D. graduate of Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and co-first author. “These insights are key to developing design principles for next-generation DAC materials.”

Traditional carbon capture methods remain costly and difficult to deploy at scale, especially in sectors like aviation, agriculture, and heavy industry where emissions are decentralized and hard to capture directly. The team’s approach introduces materials that are not only more abundant and affordable but also more sustainable, reducing environmental strain during production and use.

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Professor Vinayak P. Dravid, who led the research, emphasized the practical potential of the technique: “If you design the system intelligently, you can use natural humidity gradients—like day-to-night changes or local dry and humid air volumes—to operate DAC systems without heavy energy input.”

Dravid is the Abraham Harris Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern and holds several leadership roles in the university’s research initiatives in nanotechnology and sustainability.

The team hopes their findings will inspire further research into novel DAC materials and systems that can be adapted for local climates and conditions. Their long-term goal is to refine these materials’ life-cycle performance—analyzing both environmental and economic factors—to bring this technology closer to commercial readiness.

“Carbon capture is still in its early days,” said Shindel. “But the technology is advancing rapidly. With these new materials, we’re moving closer to affordable, scalable solutions that can help the world meet its climate goals.”