The 600-volt power line is switched on and the machine shows its first sign of life. As they put power to one key component, the fans suck the air through the apparatus.

These fans will draw air through a 31-foot-long chamber filled with wavy plastic material. Water laced with sodium hydroxide will run down that plastic and react with carbon dioxide to pull it out of the air.

After that part of the machine is up and running reliably, Keith plans to test various chemical systems to complete the process — that is, to recycle the chemical that captures carbon dioxide, and to create a pure stream of CO2 gas, which can then be buried underground.

Keith sees a few niche applications that could actually make this little company money. One idea is to take the pure carbon dioxide and pump it underground to push up oil. He says this oil would qualify as a low-carbon fuel, since producing it would actually take carbon dioxide out of the air.