So I had this idea for combating global warming. It would basically be a Solar Cell (PV) attached to some kinda apparatus that would use the electricity generated to separate carbon from CO2. You could then compress it into a large brick, send it to a central storage facility, and make periodic trips to drop them all in the deep atlantic, so that they don't just get burned or something stupid like that. It would probably cost about 1000-3000 dollars to make, sell it at non-profit prices to ecologically-minded people with money to spare, and the world can only benefit, right? I know it would hardly nudge the output of CO2, but who knows? Maybe get gov't funding (once Bush is out), and put a buttload of 'em in the desert, where there's plenty of sun. What do you think?
using the natural method of capturing CO2 would be easier and more aesthetic: plant plants and trees.
Yeah, but those get chopped down and burned eventually, or decompose, or are eaten and the carbon is released during respiration. Eventually, it gets thrown back out as CO2. My idea is kind of to make up for all the carbon that was stored being sucked out of the ground and burned.
The bonding of a CO2 molecule is very strong. Breaking that bond would involve unpleasant byproducts. Trees and plants are a much better use of solar engery to remove carbon from the air. You also get geometricly increased capacity from a self-propigating device (i.e. the plant).
Something tells me these little machinges will cost more than 3000 dollars, will not be particularly inefficient, and probably won't get purchased. At least not in our lifetime.
i second mikes thought - the energy spent breaking the co2 molecule would be alot. it would be better to just use the electricity created by the pe cell to run something and cut out the middleman of fossil fuels.
Dumb carbon bricks in the ocean? Why would ya ever want to do that, when it can be used in making useful composite materials?
It is more energy efficient and more ecologically sound for everyone to plant a new tree every month. or, my favorite...plant bamboo.
a bamboo grove can double its mass (therfore carbon dioxide sequestered) every year. even Trees can't do that.
Unfortunatly even plants pollute the atmosphere. The chemical process in plants that utilize sunlight to turn water and co2 into biomass also produces pollutants...all be it natural pollutants...than enter the atmospher, land and ground water. the "Smokey Mountains" were "smokey" due to a haze of terpines and other chemical released into the atmosphere during the active growth phase in summer...you can look this up and do not have to take my worf for it. I still prefer the natural method over artificial means. back to the oiginal idea in the thread...he is not far off. nasa has reseached a method where by a probe sent to mars makes its own rocket fuel (methane) from the carbon dioxide in the martian atmosphere and hydrogen brought by the ship. catalysts are used and sunlight is te power source. the martian atmosphere is over 90% co2, however instead of 350 parts per million here on earth but the idea is viable. If the sunlight can be used to store the co2...what better way than to store it as fuel that can be reused.
Plants do all they can, but there is unfortunately no longer room nor opportunity for a country blanketed with trees. Besides, there were more trees before the industrial revolution than there are now. The thing is, the percent of oxygen in the air has about halved (if I remember right) since that time, and it's because there are vast stores of carbon in the ground that have been released for energy. Oil, coal, etc. This would help the trees in their quest, hopefully, and put more oxygen in the air, by sequestering carbon, and putting in a very hard-to-reach, and probably not worth the money to reach place. So ideally, it would create a permanent carbon dump.
