Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Chemists have been pulling carbon dioxide out of the air for almost 300 years, but can this seemingly magical technology save us from climate change? George answers that question with a couple of Erlenmeyer flasks, some limestone, two envelopes, and a straw.
Producers:
Andrew Sobey
Elaine Seward
Darren Weaver
Writer:
George Zaidan
Hosts:
George Zaidan
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff
Scientific Consultants:
Stuart Haszeldine Ph.D.
David Heldebrant Ph.D.
Leila Duman, Ph.D.
Michelle Boucher, PhD
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2025 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Sources:
Electrochemical regeneration of high-purity CO2 from (bi)carbonates in a porous solid electrolyte reactor for efficient carbon capture | Nature Energy
nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01654-z
Carbon dioxide capture from open air using covalent organic frameworks
nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08080-x
This Yellow Powder Made at UC Berkeley Can Suck Carbon From the Air
kqed.org/science/1994906/uc-berkeley-scientists-create-turmeric-like-powder-suck-carbon-from-air
Negative emissions technologies and carbon capture and storage to achieve the Paris Agreement commitments
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsta.2016.0447
Economic and energetic analysis of capturing CO2 from ambient air
pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1012253108
Flawed analysis of the possibility of air capture
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1203618109
Reply to Realff and Eisenberger: Energy requirements of air capture systems
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1204448109
How Much Energy Would It Take to Pull Carbon Dioxide out of the Air? | WIRED
wired.com/story/the-stupendous-energy-cost-of-direct-air-capture
On geoengineering and the CO2 problem
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00162777
Overcoming the Entropy Penalty of Direct Air Capture for Efficient Gigatonne Removal of Carbon Dioxide
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsengineeringau.2c00043
The thermodynamics of direct air capture of carbon dioxide
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360544212006901
Direct Air Capture | Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies
books.rsc.org/books/edited-volume/1995/chapter-abstract/4571272/Direct-Air-Capture?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate
edu.rsc.org/experiments/thermal-decomposition-of-calcium-carbonate/704.article
Climeworks unveils upgraded carbon capture tech
trellis.net/article/climeworks-unveils-upgraded-carbon-capture-tech
After lime water turns milky: hydrogen carbonates (bicarbonates), formation and decomposition HCO3 - - YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=-KTv0zO5vzY
Testing for CO2 (Carbon dioxide) with Limewater - YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=bkiJ3xzYnY8
AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
Atmospheric alchemy: The energy and cost dynamics of direct air carbon capture
link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43581-024-00091-5
Carbon Capture and Storage: History and the Road Ahead
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809922001357
Resource Recovery and the Sherwood Plot
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36673145
The urgency of the development of CO2 capture from ambient air
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1108765109
Electrochemical direct air capture of CO2 using neutral red as reversible redox-active material
nature.com/articles/s41467-023-35866-w
Electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide for the Paris goals
nature.com/articles/s41929-021-00704-z
Use of monoethanolamine (MEA) for CO2 capture in a global scenario: Consequences and alternatives
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001191641500418X
Joseph Black, carbon dioxide, latent heat, and the beginnings of the discovery of the respiratory gases | American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajplung.00020.2014
Electrochemical Approaches toward CO2 Capture and Concentration
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.0c03639
Electrochemical Capture and Release of Carbon Dioxide
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsenergylett.6b00608
CO2 electrochemical reduction: A state-of-the-art review with economic and environmental analyses
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263876224004064
Progress and Perspectives of Electrochemical CO2 Reduction on Copper in Aqueous Electrolyte
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00705
Chemists have been pulling carbon dioxide out of the air for almost 300 years, but can this seemingly magical technology save us from climate change? George answers that question with a couple of Erlenmeyer flasks, some limestone, two envelopes, and a straw.
Producers:
Andrew Sobey
Elaine Seward
Darren Weaver
Writer:
George Zaidan
Hosts:
George Zaidan
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff
Scientific Consultants:
Stuart Haszeldine Ph.D.
David Heldebrant Ph.D.
Leila Duman, Ph.D.
Michelle Boucher, PhD
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2025 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Sources:
Electrochemical regeneration of high-purity CO2 from (bi)carbonates in a porous solid electrolyte reactor for efficient carbon capture | Nature Energy
nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01654-z
Carbon dioxide capture from open air using covalent organic frameworks
nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08080-x
This Yellow Powder Made at UC Berkeley Can Suck Carbon From the Air
kqed.org/science/1994906/uc-berkeley-scientists-create-turmeric-like-powder-suck-carbon-from-air
Negative emissions technologies and carbon capture and storage to achieve the Paris Agreement commitments
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsta.2016.0447
Economic and energetic analysis of capturing CO2 from ambient air
pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1012253108
Flawed analysis of the possibility of air capture
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1203618109
Reply to Realff and Eisenberger: Energy requirements of air capture systems
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1204448109
How Much Energy Would It Take to Pull Carbon Dioxide out of the Air? | WIRED
wired.com/story/the-stupendous-energy-cost-of-direct-air-capture
On geoengineering and the CO2 problem
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00162777
Overcoming the Entropy Penalty of Direct Air Capture for Efficient Gigatonne Removal of Carbon Dioxide
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsengineeringau.2c00043
The thermodynamics of direct air capture of carbon dioxide
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360544212006901
Direct Air Capture | Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies
books.rsc.org/books/edited-volume/1995/chapter-abstract/4571272/Direct-Air-Capture?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate
edu.rsc.org/experiments/thermal-decomposition-of-calcium-carbonate/704.article
Climeworks unveils upgraded carbon capture tech
trellis.net/article/climeworks-unveils-upgraded-carbon-capture-tech
After lime water turns milky: hydrogen carbonates (bicarbonates), formation and decomposition HCO3 - - YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=-KTv0zO5vzY
Testing for CO2 (Carbon dioxide) with Limewater - YouTube
youtube.com/watch?v=bkiJ3xzYnY8
AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
Atmospheric alchemy: The energy and cost dynamics of direct air carbon capture
link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43581-024-00091-5
Carbon Capture and Storage: History and the Road Ahead
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809922001357
Resource Recovery and the Sherwood Plot
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36673145
The urgency of the development of CO2 capture from ambient air
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1108765109
Electrochemical direct air capture of CO2 using neutral red as reversible redox-active material
nature.com/articles/s41467-023-35866-w
Electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide for the Paris goals
nature.com/articles/s41929-021-00704-z
Use of monoethanolamine (MEA) for CO2 capture in a global scenario: Consequences and alternatives
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001191641500418X
Joseph Black, carbon dioxide, latent heat, and the beginnings of the discovery of the respiratory gases | American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajplung.00020.2014
Electrochemical Approaches toward CO2 Capture and Concentration
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.0c03639
Electrochemical Capture and Release of Carbon Dioxide
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsenergylett.6b00608
CO2 electrochemical reduction: A state-of-the-art review with economic and environmental analyses
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263876224004064
Progress and Perspectives of Electrochemical CO2 Reduction on Copper in Aqueous Electrolyte
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00705
