ripple effect

UH team develops method to use electricity to remove harmful carbon from ocean waters

UH assistant professor Mim Rahimi published a paper on the development of his lab's emerging negative emissions technology known as electrochemical direct ocean capture. Photo via UH.edu

Researchers at the University of Houston are developing a new, cost-effective way to help rid oceans of harmful carbon dioxide and fight the effects of climate change.

UH assistant professor Mim Rahimi published a paper on the development of his lab's emerging negative emissions technology known as electrochemical direct ocean capture (eDOC) in the journal Energy & Environmental Science this month.

The paper details how Rahimi's team is working to create electrochemical tubes to remove dissolved inorganic carbon from synthetic seawater, according to a release from UH. The process aims to amplify the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon and can easily be integrated into existing on-shore and off-shore infrastructure, including desalination plants and oil rigs.

Unlike other methods that involve complex processes, expensive materials and specialized membranes, the eDOC method focuses on adjusting the ocean water's acidity using affordable electrodes.

“While eDOC won’t single-handedly turn the tide on climate change, it enriches our mitigation toolkit,” Rahimi said in a statement. “In this global challenge, every innovative approach becomes invaluable.”

Rahimi's research is funded by a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and preliminary research was sponsored by UH Energy’s Center for Carbon Management in Energy.

“The promise of eDOC is undeniable, but scaling it, optimizing costs and achieving peak efficiency remain challenges we’re actively addressing,” he added in a statement.

Late last month, UH shared details on another carbon removal project it is involved with–this time focused on direct air capture (DAC). Known as the Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal study–led by Louisiana State University and including UH and Shell—the project looks at the feasibility of a DAC hub that would pull carbon dioxide from the air and either store it in deep geological formations or use it to manufacture various products, such as concrete.

In August, UH announced that the project received nearly $4.9 million in grants, including almost $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. Click here to read more.

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A View From HETI

A new UH survey shows Harris County residents fear power outages more than flooding or wind when severe weather hits. Photo via Getty Images.

A new survey from the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs showed that nearly 70 percent of 2,300 Harris County registered voters polled were very worried or moderately worried about losing power this summer.

The survey asked residents questions about the potential impact of severe summer weather and to evaluate CenterPoint’s efforts to improve the electrical grid over the past year. It was conducted between July 9-18.

Among the three severe weather threats studied—being without power, high winds and flooding—loss of power was the primary concern among respondents. When asked to what extent residents were worried about being without power:

  • 42 percent were very worried
  • 27 percent were moderately worried
  • 19 percent were a little worried
  • 12 percent were not worried at all

Only 25 percent of respondents reported they were very worried about wind damage, and 20 percent were very worried about flooding.

The report also found that 63 percent of respondents held an unfavorable opinion of CenterPoint Energy.

And despite CenterPoint’s $3.2 billion Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP), partnerships with AI companies, and its ongoing Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI), 44 percent of respondents said they believe CenterPoint has made only "a little bit" progress on improving the grid's overall reliability.

CenterPoint maintains that the SRP is expected to reduce storm-related outages by 1 billion minutes for its 2.8 million customers by 2029. The company also recently reported a 45 percent reduction in the duration of outages for individual customers from January to June of this year.

“We believe that these resiliency actions will help create a future with fewer outages that impact smaller clusters of customers, coupled with faster restoration times for our Greater Houston communities,” Jason Wells, president and CEO of CenterPoint, previously said in a news release.

Read the full report that includes demographic explanations here.

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