SYDNEY, Nov. 11 (Xinhua/APP):A team of students from Australia’s Monash University were declared on Thursday as one of the winners of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Student Competition.
The competition, funded by Tesla-founder Elon Musk, will see teams from around the world have their carbon capture projects pitted against each other with the help of 250,000 U.S. dollars in funding.
One of the team members, Payton Seeto, a fourth-year student studying mechanical engineering and finance at Monash University and Chief Operating Officer on the project, told Xinhua that the team’s project has been seven months in the making.
“We’re hoping that we can really get people excited about this award, and all the amazing things that it will let us do,” said Seeto.
The winning proposal from Monash’s team, the Monash Carbon Capture and Conversion student team, proposed the use of bio-sequestration to capture carbon dioxide (CO2).
Seeto said their technology relies on “artificial forests”, which are constructed to absorb as much CO2 from the air as possible.
“We’ve designed an environment that we feel will maximise our solution and its potential,” said Seeto. “We will have that floating in the ocean where micro algae will be able to consume as much carbon as possible.”
After the apparatus has absorbed CO2, under the team’s proposal, the sequestered carbon could be converted into usable materials like timber and biochar, a carbon rich charcoal that can be used to fertilize soil.
“We need to look after our planet, and we believe that we’re creating by-products that really work after that.”
Seeto said the project has been a great way for her, and other young people like her, to front up to climate change, a crisis that can often leave young people feeling powerless.
“There’s so much work that needs to be done, and it’s amazing to be a part of that.”
The next stage of the competition will run until February of 2022.
In the meantime, the team will refine their proposal, begin on prototypes and modelling before their final proposal is pitted up against projects from professional and student teams from across the globe.
The team’s achievements thus far have attracted the attention of top Australian officials.
“Australia can excel at carbon capture and storage thanks to our natural geography and Monash University students are leading the way,” said Assistant Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Tim Wilson.
Seeto’s advice for other young people who want to get involved in climate solutions is “see what’s around you”.
“Reach out and find like-minded individuals, there are so many opportunities out there.”
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