A California-based company called Captura is turning heads with a new technology that could help fight climate change by pulling carbon dioxide (CO₂) straight out of the ocean. That’s right—not the air, but the ocean.
Captura is a spinoff from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and they’ve come up with a smart, energy-efficient way to clean our oceans and help reduce the planet’s carbon overload at the same time.
How It Works
The process, called Direct Ocean Capture (DOC), works like this:
- Ocean water is brought into a facility—either on land or out at sea.
- Using renewable electricity, the water is run through a system called electrodialysis, which separates it into acid and base (alkaline).
- The acid is added to a small portion of the seawater, which helps release the carbon dioxide (CO₂) dissolved in the water.
- A vacuum pump helps pull that CO₂ out, and the purified CO₂ is collected.
- Meanwhile, the rest of the water is neutralized with the base and safely returned to the ocean.
What makes this process special is that once the treated water goes back into the ocean, it naturally pulls more CO₂ from the atmosphere. So in essence, Captura is turning seawater into a giant sponge that can soak up even more carbon from the air.
Why It Matters
Oceans already store a lot of the Earth’s carbon dioxide—far more than the atmosphere. But they can only do so much before becoming saturated. Captura’s approach clears some of that CO₂ out, which lets the ocean absorb more from the air. And all of this happens without adding chemicals or polluting the water.
According to Captura, this method has the potential to remove gigatons of carbon dioxide, making it a powerful tool to help slow global warming.
Small Pilot, Big Plans
Captura began testing the technology in 2022 with a small facility in Newport Beach, California, where it successfully processed ocean water continuously. Their next project is a larger facility, in partnership with AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, which will capture up to 100 tons of CO₂ per year.
The company says this is just the beginning. With continued support and scaling, these ocean purification plants could one day remove millions—even billions—of tons of CO₂ from the environment.
A Cleaner Future from the Ocean
Captura’s CEO, Steve Oldham, says their work is moving fast and that their partnership with AltaSea and funding from SoCalGas will help them keep pushing forward. “This is a great example of California companies teaming up to lead the fight against climate change,” he said.
Captura’s tech isn’t just futuristic—it’s happening now. And if it delivers as promised, it could be a game-changer in the global effort to clean the air, restore the ocean, and cool the planet.
Source: https://capturacorp.com/
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