So you want to build a carbon capture company
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So you want to build a carbon capture company
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Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#2TL,DR: What are the problems to solve for efficient CC?
Answer that's missing in the article:
CO2 is one of the stablest elements in the atmosphere. Removing it will require humongous amounts of energy (as a rule of the thumb, more energy than the energy-producing process that generated this CO2 in the first place). Therefore CC at scale is probably a pipe dream and will remain so, because thermodynamics.
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#3Tangential thought; aren't compressed gas companies who bottle CO2/Nitrogen etc. technically carbon capturing?
Surely they have optimised their industrial processes, which could be repurposed into a large storage unit rather than a cast iron gas bottle?
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#4I have an idea about genetically modifying algae to continuously synthesize and excrete cellulose or similar. In theory would only need sunlight and water to operate, and cellulose could sink to the bottom and collected. Anyone knows if this has been explored?
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#5I have an idea about genetically modifying algae to continuously synthesize and excrete cellulose or similar. In theory would only need sunlight and water to operate, and cellulose could sink to the bottom and collected. Anyone knows if this has been explored?
Algae biofuel has definitely been a thing that people have tried over and over again and it hasn’t happened after a few decades so presumably there is some issue with commercialization.
Wikipedia claims algae has very high water requirements (>600L of water for 1L of fuel) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#6TL,DR: What are the problems to solve for efficient CC? Answer that's missing in the article: CO2 is one of the stablest elements in the atmosphere. Removing it will require humongous amounts of energy (as a rule of the thumb, more energy than the energy-producing process that generated this CO2 in the first place). Therefore CC at scale is probably a pipe dream and will remain so, because thermodynamics.
Most of the energy used in CO2 capture through amine absorption is in the form of heat. Luckily, most processes where point-source CCS could be used produce waste gas streams at very high temperatures which can significantly reduce the additional energy that needs to be added.
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#7Has the author heard of photosynthesis?
He is making valid point that we would need more energy to capture but we have lot of energy we could use in daytime near equator. Fossil fuel are burnt just because they are easy to work with and could produce energy all the time, but we have lot of solar energy that is wasted.
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#8Has the author heard of photosynthesis? He is making valid point that we would need more energy to capture but we have lot of energy we could use in daytime near equator. Fossil fuel are burnt just because they are easy to work with and could produce energy all the time, but we have lot of solar energy that is wasted.
A plant is basically a self-healing, self-replicating CO2-capturing machine running off solar power and some chemicals.
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#9Has the author heard of photosynthesis? He is making valid point that we would need more energy to capture but we have lot of energy we could use in daytime near equator. Fossil fuel are burnt just because they are easy to work with and could produce energy all the time, but we have lot of solar energy that is wasted.
The author does specifically list "planting trees", so presumably yes?
> If we’re going to capture 10 GT of CO2 a year by planting trees, how much water will we need to irrigate them?
Re: So you want to build a carbon capture company
#10I have an idea about genetically modifying algae to continuously synthesize and excrete cellulose or similar. In theory would only need sunlight and water to operate, and cellulose could sink to the bottom and collected. Anyone knows if this has been explored?
Algae biofuel has definitely been a thing that people have tried over and over again and it hasn’t happened after a few decades so presumably there is some issue with commercialization. Wikipedia claims algae has very high water requirements (>600L of water for 1L of fuel) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel
> 600L of water for 1L of fuel
Is this actually the problem or is there other factors? A lot more is needed for 1kg of beef or certain crops.
I live in the tropics and water usage is just never an issue and if it was they'd actually store some of what falls from the sky. Truly doubt that water is the real bottleneck here.
edit: From the wiki page
Among algal fuels' attractive characteristics are that they can be grown with minimal impact on fresh water resources, can be produced using saline and wastewater