A New Approach to Capturing Urban Carbon Pollution

PlanetWEST’s new Solid Carbon Capture (SCC) technology is designed for urban and industrial sites.

PlanetWEST is pursuing a carbon capture approach that differs from conventional direct air capture (DAC). Rather than primarily extracting very dilute atmospheric CO₂, its MIDAC (Mobile Intelligent Direct Air Capture) platform is designed to capture solid carbon particles—especially black carbon—at or near locations where those particles are most concentrated. 

The concept

According to PlanetWEST, the technology is built around several ideas:

• Target black carbon hotspots rather than uniformly sampling the entire atmosphere.

• Capture pollution close to its source, such as dense urban traffic, industrial zones, ports, airports, and other areas with high particulate emissions.

• Use mobile platforms, including vehicles or autonomous systems, so the capture equipment moves through polluted air instead of relying solely on large stationary plants.

• Reduce energy consumption by avoiding the need to process enormous volumes of relatively clean air, which is a major cost driver for traditional CO₂ DAC systems. 

Why black carbon?

Black carbon is produced by incomplete combustion of diesel fuel, coal, wood, biomass, and other fuels. It is distinct from carbon dioxide.

PlanetWEST focuses on black carbon which offers several potential advantages:

• It is concentrated in localized pollution hotspots.

• It is a powerful short-lived climate pollutant.

• Removing it may provide faster climate and air-quality benefits than removing an equivalent mass of atmospheric CO₂.

• Reducing black carbon also reduces human exposure to harmful fine particulates. 

PlanetWEST says MIDAC (Pat.Pend.):

• draws ambient air through a capture unit;

• traps black carbon and other fine particulate matter;

• stores the captured material for later removal and disposal or recycling;

• uses AI and sensor networks to identify pollution hotspots and optimize deployment. 

The company has also announced concepts involving integration with existing transportation infrastructure, including vehicle-mounted systems and fuel stations.

How it differs from conventional DAC:

-Targets solid black carbon particles and other particulates

-Higher concentrations in urban hotspots

-Mobile, distributed systems

-Intended to reduce energy by operating where pollution is concentrated

The MIDAC technology benefits include:

• Faster reduction of black carbon pollution in cities.

• Improved public health through lower particulate exposure.

• Lower energy requirements than some conventional DAC systems.

• Ability to complement—not necessarily replace—traditional CO₂ reduction technologies. 

MIDAC represents a different category of carbon management technology: one focused on capturing highly warming black carbon and particulate pollution in concentrated urban environments, while complementing broader efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions and remove atmospheric carbon dioxide.

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PlanetWEST is an advanced climate-technology company specializing in decentralized, intelligent air capture solutions. By targeting high-impact short-lived climate pollutants, PlanetWEST develops scalable, low-energy systems engineered to protect public health and deliver immediate atmospheric stabilization.