A novel technology to trap large-scale greenhouse gas emissions is being developed by University of Queensland researcher Dr. John Zhu.

He aims to develop a carbon nanotube membrane for gas separation that will work like a sieve to separate high volumes of methane or carbon dioxide from other gases. The methane could also be used to provide valuable pipeline-quality gas.

Dr Zhu said that the CNT technology would trap moving gases up to 100 times faster than other gas separation techniques and could be used by large-scale plants such as power stations.