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Letter: There are easier ways to mop up carbon dioxide

Published 29 January 2025

From Dave Covell, Ottery St Mary, Devon, UK

As an energy/carbon engineer for over 35 years, I fully support the “defossilisation” of production of goods. However, why the fixation on capturing carbon from the flue gas of blast furnaces or other hot and highly polluted sources(4 January, p 22)?

In my career, I have encountered many manufacturing processes, including acid neutralisation and fermentation, which emit streams of inherently clean carbon dioxide at low temperatures, making them much easier to handle. Surely all such sources should be prioritised before we start on more difficult CO2 capture. The environmental benefit is identical, cost per tonne is lower and therefore the chance of overall success is much higher.

Issue no. 3528 published 1 February 2025

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