Carbon scrubbers remove carbon dioxide from the air and are used in industry, medicine, and enclosed environments. They reduce anthropogenic carbon emissions and are used to control industrial emissions. Different technologies are used to remove carbon, with most focused on absorption. Carbon scrubbers also have non-industrial applications, including personal and environmental use, and are commonly used in indoor ventilation systems.
A carbon scrubber is a device that removes carbon dioxide from the air. These devices have various applications in industry and in the medical field. They are also common in enclosed environments such as submarines, spacecraft and biological research areas. Carbon scrubbers have become more common since the turn of the 21st century as a way to reduce the level of anthropogenic carbon emissions released into the environment.
Human-caused carbon emissions are believed to have a detrimental effect on the earth’s environment. As a result, a large number of world governments strictly monitor industrial carbon emissions. These industrial emissions are controlled using carbon scrubbers. The devices connect to various locations that emit carbon and purify the exhaust air before it is released into the environment.
There are several technologies used to remove carbon, but most of them are focused on absorption. Carbon likes to bond on a molecular level with different substances. Carbon scrubbers take advantage of these chemical processes to remove carbon from oxygen. After working for a certain period of time, which varies according to the chemicals used and the clean carbon rate, the reacting material becomes saturated with carbon. In most cases, this material is then waste, although efforts are being made to find a low-cost, reusable reagent.
Carbon scrubbers also have non-industrial applications. They are common in places with extremely strict environmental specifications, such as intensive care units in hospitals. These areas use two different types of carbon scrubbers; personal and environmental. An environmental carbon scrubber works much like its industrial counterpart. These scrubbers are commonly connected to the area ventilation system.
With a personal carbon scrubber, a mask is fitted to a person. This mask has several filters on it that extract the carbon from the person’s breath. These filters usually have a special type of carbon in them called activated carbon. Activated carbon will absorb ordinary carbon and other airborne impurities at an exceptional rate. Some varieties of personal masks can be cleaned and reused while others are disposable.
The last major area that commonly contains carbon scrubbers is indoors. Humans, and most other animals, naturally emit carbon dioxide. In a closed environment, this slow increase in carbon dioxide, coupled with the slow decrease in oxygen, would quickly make the air unsuitable. In these cases, the carbon scrubber removes carbon from the oxygen, allowing a given amount of air to last significantly longer than it otherwise would. This variety of carbon scrubbers are usually part of the ventilation and air filtration system.
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