A New Method To Cleaner And More Efficient CO2 Capture  July 22,
2009  Separating carbon dioxide from its polluting source, such
as the flue gas from a coal-fired power plant, may soon become
cleaner and more efficient.  A Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory researcher has developed a screening method that
would use ionic liquids “” a special type of molten salt that
becomes liquid under the boiling point of water (100 degrees
Celsius) “” to separate carbon dioxide from its source, making
it a There are major efforts to reduce CO2 emissions from
burning fossil fuel, but before it can be sequestered, it must
first be separated from its source, a step known as “capture.”
This new technique could significantly enhance the efficiency of
the CO2 capture process.  Currently, the few coal plants with
commercial CO2 capture capability all use processes based on
chemical absorption with monoethanolamine (MEA), a general-
purpose solvent developed by chemists some 75 years ago.
Unfortunately, it is non-selective, cor