Clays could be an inexpensive, accessible, and abundant resource for absorbing carbon dioxide from the air. Clay minerals have an exceptionally high surface area–one tablespoon has approximately the same surface area as an American football field. Most of this area is found in the clay’s internal pores which have polar and nonpolar regions. Molecules like CO₂ prefer the nonpolar regions, while water vapor prefers the polar regions. By selecting certain types of clay and manipulating their ionic structure uptake CO₂ can be optimized.
www.eaps.purdue.edu/news/articles/2025/0603_co2clay_johnston.h