With reference to ‘Direct Air Capture’, an emerging technology, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- I.It can be used as a way of carbon sequestration.
- II.It can be a valuable approach for plastic production and in food processing.
- III.In aviation, it can be a source of carbon for combining with hydrogen to create synthetic low-carbon fuel.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) I, II and III
Direct air capture (DAC) pulls CO2 straight out of ambient air. The captured CO2 can be stored underground, which removes it from the atmosphere, or used as a carbon feedstock for products such as food and beverages, chemicals and some plastics, and, combined with hydrogen, for synthetic aviation fuel. All three statements describe real uses.
- ✓ I Capturing CO2 from the air and storing it permanently removes it from the atmosphere; this is carbon removal by sequestration.
- ✓ II Air-captured CO2 can serve as a climate-neutral feedstock for a range of products, from food and beverages to chemicals, and some plastics are among the CO2-based products.
- ✓ III Air-captured CO2 combined with hydrogen is used to make synthetic hydrocarbon fuels, notably for aviation.
Remember · Direct air capture takes CO2 from ambient air: store it (carbon removal) or use it (food and beverages, chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fuels made with hydrogen).
Sources
- IEA: Direct Air Capture: A key technology for net zero (2022), Abstract ↗ · reference work “Capturing CO2 directly from the air and permanently storing it removes the CO2 from the atmosphere, providing a way to balance emissions that are difficult to avoid … Air-captured CO2 can also be used as a climate-neutral feedstock to produce a range of products, from synthetic aviation fuels to food and beverages. … Early commercial efforts to develop synthetic aviation fuels using air-captured CO2 and hydrogen have started, reflecting the important role that these fuels could play”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·