Prestressed solar updraft towers for use in greenhouse gas removal

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Oct 19, 2025, 2:25:56 PM (19 hours ago) Oct 19
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X25008072

Authors: J.A. Clarkson, A.B.A. French, S.D. Guest, C.J. Burgoyne

14 October 2025


Highlights
•Prestressed hyperboloid cable-net as proposed structural form for solar updraft tower.

•Solar updraft tower proposed for use in greenhouse gas removal system.

•Lateral stiffness and stability of tower predicted via analytical model.

•Verification of analytical model with scale physical model.

•Sizing of 1km tall full-scale tower design and estimation of CO2 removal rates.

Abstract
Greenhouse gas removal technologies will require huge throughputs of air in order to effectively remove diffuse greenhouse gases: solar updraft towers, which utilise a greenhouse induced stack effect, could provide this airflow. For such a system to be economically feasible, the tower structure must be efficient and, ideally, lightweight; however, existing designs mainly consider slip-formed concrete tubes, which must be relatively stocky to resist buckling. We therefore propose the alternative, lightweight, structural form of a prestressed hyperboloid cable-net, suspended from a central compression mast via a “bicycle wheel” at the top, and covered in fabric to form a chimney. Our objective is to show the feasibility of such a structure: we investigate the structural mechanics via a simplified analytical model and scale physical model, finding good agreement between the models in predicting the lateral stiffness of the tower. These models, combined with estimates of the wind load, are then used to estimate the sizing of a 1000m tall, 100m diameter tower. A simple estimate of the maximum CO2 removal rate illustrates the difficulties of removing greenhouse gases at scale.

Source: ScienceDirect 
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