Why Carbon Capture is The Future
By: Kawtar Karmouni
Tags: Science, Climate Change, Global Warming, Environment, Green Energy

Details about our buddy CO2

CO2 (or carbon dioxide) is a natural gas that allows sunlight to reach the earth. How so? Well, let’s take a look at the diagram below first:

We can see that when the sun emits solar energy, it can go two ways. Either in space or in the earth surface. However, this distribution is not proportionate, the majority goes to the earth. Thus warming and increasing its temperature.

Hold up! Why does the heat of the sun get absorbed by the earth’s crust more than space?

So remember our buddy CO2? Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (GHG), which means that it is a very weak absorber in terms of incoming solar radiation. Furthermore, because it is unable to prevent the solar radiation that enters the earth’s surface, the heat comes rushing through without further protection.

Think of CO2 like a phony soldier. It tries to give the allure that it can protect the noble earth. But in fact, it lets the solar radiation (i.e. the “enemies”) to race through which heats the earth.

Because CO2 can’t absorb the solar energy of the sun, it will instead emit it. The emission of this infrared radiation (heat of the sunlight) is propagated and directed downwards towards the Earth. That’s not to say that it’s only directed towards the Earth’s crust. Sure, some of the rays will go outward towards space but only minimally.

Should I curse CO2 molecules?

Of course not. In fact, if it weren’t for this process which is called the greenhouse effect, our earth would be approximately -18 degrees Celsius! That’s like living on an iceberg in Iceland! If it weren’t for the weakness of this greenhouse gas, there would not be any entrapment of solar radiation on our planet. Therefore, without it, our earth would not be habitable.

Here’s the difference between what happens when it’s an incoming radiation (coming from the sun) Vs. an outgoing radiation (reflected by the earth) :

Uhh… remind me what the problem is?

Anything that is done excessively to the environment is by consequence adverse. Because there has been an excess amount of mining for fossil fuels, this creates a temperature imbalance.

The more CO2 is released into the earth’s atmosphere = the warmer the earth becomes (because the majority of the infrared radiation is directed to the earth by the CO2 molecules).

Greenhouse gases such as CO2 are the main contributors to global warming which is deteriorating the environment (icebergs melting, wildlife losing their habitats, inundations evoked by excess of water melted etc.).

You might be wondering:

“Well Kawtar, why are you only talking about CO2?”

Good question! It’s because not only is CO2 the most abundant greenhouse gas on earth, but it’s also the one that shows the most potential to improve our earth’s circumstance.

I know, seems pretty contradictory. It’s the most plentiful but it also shows the most potential to help? Let me explain.

The Process of Capturing CO2

One of the most promising initiatives in terms of reducing the establishment of climate change is to quite literally, capture the CO2 emissions that amplify and initiate the earth’s immoderate heating.

In other words, it’s putting the carbon dioxide emissions back where it came from (underground)!

There are three steps that involve carbon capture:

Separating and trapping the CO2 from other gases. Transporting the substance to a storage location. Storing and secluding it away from the atmosphere.

Mechanism of the Separation

There are various methods to separate CO2 from other gases. Some utilize a “filter” which contains a solvent that absorbs CO2. This solvent is later heated which will liberate water vapor and leave a concentrated amount of CO2 as residue.

There is also the process of calcination (essentially heating a solid to a boiling high temperature to remove the CO2), selective membranes (acts like the filter, clogs in the CO2) etc.

If we have all these mechanisms, how come the progress of carbon capture has been so slow with only 22 projects around the world?

Well, let’s just say that these processes tend to require a lot of cha-ching $$$ (specifically direct air capture), time and resources. So, to make carbon capture a universal objective, companies need to allocate these facilities and take the initiative of becoming carbon negative.

Companies like Climeworks are pioneering the carbon capture industry by installing the world’s first direct air capture facility. Air is drawn into the collector by a fan. Then, a filter which acts as a selective layer, gets CO2 on the surface and is closed. Finally, the container is heated to the temperature that will release (and separate) the carbon dioxide from the substance.

Transportation of the Substance

Firstly, what do we use to transport the substance?

Pipelines. They start at the source of capture and goes to its storage location. CO2 is usually travelled in its gaseous state.

However, I am quite uneasy and hesitant about the usage of pipelines. Although they are the safest way to transport oils (in terms of their quality), there are still ethical concerns tied to this method, like the perturbation this would pose on indigenous communities. It wouldn’t make sense to solve a problem while simultaneously creating another.

One of the greatest flaws of carbon capture is that the actual transportation of the matter disturbs indigenous folk. Yes, it is the most environmentally-friendly option compared to trains or trucks . However, that should not infringe or pose a threat to the land that other people step on.

Where the heck is it stored?!

Now, when the matter finally arrives at its destination (think of CO2 like a spoiled yet posh knight that uses pipelines as its plane and sits at the first class area), it can be snuggly stored away from the atmosphere.

It’s kind of like a whole kingdom (the deteriorated earth) actually resents the CO2 soldier so instead of firing it, they find a cowardly way to just hide it away from civilization.

So where will Sir CO2 go?

Either underground in the soil or deep underwater (geez, this spoiled molecule is going to take some time to adjust from its once comfy first class seat to literal dirt and in fear of sharks…).

Storing gases and oils underground isn’t new for these industries, in fact, this entrapment of underground storage even has a term : geological sequestration. These reservoirs are ideal for storing CO2, because they have a multitude of overlying rocks. These rocks form a seal which ensures the entrapment of the carbon dioxide molecules.

We can also dump the CO2 in the ocean. Doesn’t sound the most appealing, right? Hear me out, when it is dumped at a depth that is greater than 3500 meters, scientists affirm that it will convert to a slushy form while falling to the ocean’s floor. Thus, it shouldn’t make its way back up to the surface of the ocean while will deteriorate the water and marine life. Nonetheless, this is still a prediction, meaning that because it hasn’t been largely tested, it remains a hypothetical antidote.

Thoughts

To conclude, carbon capture has its benefits and risks. It is one of the most promising emerging technologies that is directly capturing the excess of CO2 which reduces the warmth (aka global warming) on our planet.

On the other hand, the mechanisms involved may pose ethical issues on indigenous communities by amplifying the quantity of pipelines (which disrupts their land) and its novelty creates a marketing problem as it is difficult to commercialize when there are still so many concerns with the predictions.

All in all, we can see that the underlying problems with this technology are centered around the social aspect. So, if we can find a way to use pipelines without disrupting indigenous land (specifically in Canada), conduct more tests to affirm the once predictions and commercialize the hell out of it…then there’s really no downside to helping prevent climate change.