The Artificial Tree

Abstract

Inside Arizona State University in Tempe’s lab sit the parts for an artificial tree, capable of extracting carbon dioxide 1,000 times faster than a natural tree. The research team is methodically transforming the process into a machine through which carbon dioxide doesn’t get turned into fruit or roots or tree trunks, as it does with a natural tree, but simply gets collected by resin in a reversible chemical process. This article takes a closer look at the process.