---

📌 The Question:
With reference to Direct Air Capture (DAC), 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.
(a) I and II only
(b) III only
(c) I, II and III
(d) None of the above statements is correct

✅ Correct Answer: (c)

---

🔍 Classroom Explanation:

Direct Air Capture (DAC) refers to technologies that extract carbon dioxide directly from ambient air, unlike conventional carbon capture which operates at emission sources (power plants, cement kilns, steel plants).

Statement I — Correct
DAC-captured CO₂ can be permanently stored in deep geological formations such as saline aquifers or basalt rock formations. This constitutes carbon sequestration, making DAC a negative-emissions technology.

Statement II — Correct
Captured CO₂ is increasingly used as a carbon feedstock in:

• Plastics and polymers
• Synthetic materials and carbon fibres
• Food processing (carbonation, preservation)

This is known as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), where carbon is locked into long-lived products.

Statement III — Correct
DAC plays a critical role in synthetic aviation fuel (e-fuel) production:

• CO₂ captured via DAC is combined with green hydrogen
• Produces Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuels
• Enables low-carbon or net-zero aviation, where direct electrification is difficult

Hence, all three statements are correct.

---

🧠 Curiosity Raiser:
If DAC removes CO₂ from the air, can large-scale deployment eventually reverse atmospheric carbon concentration trends?

---

📚 Enrich Notes (Prelims Edge):

• DAC differs from point-source carbon capture
• Energy-intensive → viability improves with renewable power
• Major DAC players globally: Climeworks, Carbon Engineering
• DAC is crucial for hard-to-abate sectors like aviation and shipping

---

🕊️ IAS Monk Whisper:
“When carbon becomes a resource, pollution turns into possibility.”