Carbon Dioxide Sequestration by Triboelectric Charging of Tumbling Quartz Sand

Mechanical activation (i.e., tumbling) of quartz sandin a carbondioxide (CO2) atmosphere leads to triboelectric chargingof the sand grains, driving a process that ultimately sequesters andremoves CO2 from the ambient atmosphere. Supported by diffusereflectance FTIR and C-13 solid-state NMR experiments anddensity functional theory (DFT) calculations, we propose that CO2 is inserted into the quartz lattice to form an anchored CO3 species, a process that otherwise requires high temperatureand pressure to proceed synthetically. The products of the reactionare stable for at least 6 months at ambient temperature and pressure,but CO2 is liberated at temperatures above 150 degrees C.The prospect of using this method to remove CO2 from theatmosphere and, ultimately, to help mitigate the adverse effects ofgreenhouse gases and global warming is briefly discussed.