While reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been handled in various carbon capture practices, recent developments have us to believe that soon CO2 may be used in products.

image © LeJean Hardin and Jamie Payne via Wikimedia Commons

Since Carbon dioxide has become a growing concern, companies have started to implement carbon capture practices which currently works by trapping CO2 at its emission source and then transporting it to a storage location which is typically underground.

While this process has helped decrease emissions, some have argued that it isn't solving the problem but rather burying it for later. That is why lately companies have been researching ways that they can transform carbon capture into a more viable product that isn't buried underground.

In Canada, multiple corporations have been researching the best way to transform carbon emissions into tangible products like toothpaste or industrial products like concrete. Among the most notable backings for environmental initiatives include The Alberta agency, Canada's Oilsands Innovation Alliance, and Emissions Reduction Alberta.

The COSIA carbon challenge attracted close to 2,000 submissions with the most prominent one being from CarbonCure. The Halifax-based company proposed injecting captured carbon into the concrete. By doing so, the process reduces the need for the composite material when making concrete and makes it stronger. They are currently testing their products at The Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre.

Licht's proposed to make cement production climate neutral, cheaper and more efficient. He suggests that his plant can catch the CO2 that would otherwise be pumped out. Once the CO2 was caught, it would be filtered into carbon nanotubes and oxygen. While the oxygen would be used in the plant's furnaces, the carbon nanotubes would be sold.