About this episode
What is COF 999?UC Berkeley chemistry professor Dr. Omar Yaghi recently led a study which has the potential to be revolutionary in reducing the quantity of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. “Covalent organic framework number 999,” or COF 999, is a yellow, powder-like material that has billions of tiny holes. Inside of these holes, researchers in Dr. Yaghi’s lab have installed molecular units that can seek out carbon dioxide, enabling the substance to suck in and capture the carbon dioxide. COF 999 has a huge capacity for absorbing emissions; half a pound of the powder can absorb as much carbon dioxide as a tree captures in a year.The carbon dioxide problemThe quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached an all-time high, with a global average in 2023 of 419.3 parts per million. This immense amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere comes from a number of human sources, the most common of which is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas for energy. Carbon dioxide is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, and contributes significantly to global warming and other environmental issues, including ocean acidification.Applying COF 999 In an interview with Forbes, Dr. Yaghi described the way he sees COF 999 being implemented as a solution. The powder can be made into pellets or a coating, and then integrated into facilities where flue gas –the gas that is released from industrial processes –is released. “This flue gas would pass through the material and because it just plucks out CO2, it cleans CO2 from that flue before it reaches the atmosphere.” According to the San Francisco Standard, Dr. Yaghi says that the powder “requires no energy, shows no signs of degradation even after 100 uses, and is made from inexpensive, commercially available materials.” Another benefit is that the material only needs to be heated to 50 or 60 degrees Celsius, rather than to 120 like many other traditional materials necessary for carbon capture.In order to see significant change in the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide concentration, we will need to couple preventing carbon dioxide emissions with direct air capture, which COF 999 can also do. According to Zihui Zhou, a UC Berkeley graduate student who worked in Dr. Yaghi’s lab says, “Currently, the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is mo
