Existing methods for removing carbon dioxide from smokestacks and other sources, including the atmosphere, are energy intensive, don't work well and have other drawbacks but solid materials based on polyethylenimine, a readily available and inexpensive polymeric material, have led to a process which achieves some of the highest carbon dioxide removal capacity ever reported for real-world conditions where the air contains moisture.

After capturing carbon dioxide, the materials give it up easily so that the CO2 can be used in making other substances, or permanently isolated from the environment. The capture material then can be recycled and reused many times over without losing efficiency. 

New materials remove CO2 from smokestacks, tailpipes and even the air - Science Codex