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The amount of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere could be significantly reduced thanks to a membrane created in Japan.

The polymer skin filters gases, such as carbon dioxide, out of the atmosphere while allowing oxygen to pass through it.

Researchers believe their polymer membrane, known as PIM-1, will play a vital role in tackling global warming in the future.

Researchers in Kyoto University have engineered a membrane (pictured left) called PIM-1, which is 'embedded with a network of channels and cavities less than two nanometres in diameter that can trap gases of interest once they enter.' It is hoped the findings may one day lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions and purer skies

The material, which has tiny holes invisible to the human eye, is highly porous so it captures harmful chemicals as they pass.

It is hoped the findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, may one day lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions and purer skies.

The gases, originating from industrial processes and the burning of fossil fuels, blanket the Earth.

The most abundant among them is carbon dioxide, which made up 84 per cent of the United States' greenhouse gases in 2012, and can remain in the Earth's atmosphere for thousands of years.

Countries around the world are searching for ways to reduce their carbon dioxide footprint.

But the chemical is essentially a waste product with little immediate commercial value, and large treatment costs.

So, new low-cost technologies are said to be needed to give industry the incentive to capture it.

Dr Qilei Song, from the University of Cambridge, who also worked on the design, said PIM-1 is 'embedded with a network of channels and cavities less than two nanometres in diameter that can trap gases of interest once they enter.'

But, he explained, these intrinsic properties made it rather flimsy and poor at sorting out the bad particles, from the good.

The most abundant of the greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, which made up 84 per cent of the United States' greenhouse gases in 2012, and can remain in the Earth's atmosphere (pictured in red) for thousands of years. The membrane is significant because it only captures greenhouse gases, and not oxygen

To overcome PIM-1's weaknesses, the researchers heated the membrane with oxygen at temperatures ranging from 120 to 450°, a process referred to as thermal oxidation.

Dr Song continued: 'Oxygen, under high temperatures, chemically reacts with PIM-1 to reinforce the strength of channels while controlling the size of so-called gate openings leading into the cavities, which allows for higher selectivity.'

This made it twice as good at catching carbon dioxide while allowing air to pass through it 100 times faster compared with commercially available polymers.

The balloon can also be used for other applications such as capturing carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels, enriching the oxygen content in air for efficient combustion engines, hydrogen gas production and processes to generate plastic.

Added project leader Professor Easan Sivaniah, of Kyoto University, Japan: 'Basically, we developed a method for making a polymer that can truly contribute to a sustainable environment. 

'And because it is affordable and long lasting, our polymer could potentially cut the cost of capturing carbon dioxide by as much as 1,000 times.'