How to Relieve Global Warming by Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

Introduction

‘US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on a report by his own government warning of devastating effects from climate change.’ (BBC News,26 November 2018) Several months ago, Donald Trump claims that the America exit ‘Paris Agreement’ because he think Global Warming is the lie of the scientists. Does he is true?

The tables below show:

‘On the Linearity of Local and Regional Temperature Changes from 1.5°C to 2°C of Global Warming.’

Fig. 1. 30% rise in atmospheric CO2 levels in 50 years (1960 to 2013.

) (Source: Global CCS Institute 2015 Report & Mauna Loa Observatory).

University of Illinois at Chicago – IL, USA and Energy Initiative – Erice (TP), Italy.EPJ Web of Conferences, Vol 148, p 00002 (2017), EDP Sciences, 2017.

According to the graphs we can see that the temperature increased since The Second Industrial Revolution. This provedthat the global warming is the real thing and it is become increasingly important problem. But why Donald Trump declaim this problem like that? First, we need to know what Global Warming is. Global warming is the term applied specifically to indicate rising average global air temperatures. This rise in temperature has the potential to cause drastic changes in climate and weather patterns worldwide by disrupting the equilibrium between incoming solar energy and the thermal energy that is reradiated away from the surface.’ (Global Warming. By: Keating, Christopher, Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2013).

Depends onscientist ‘sannouncement, the main reason of global warming is carbon dioxide, which mostly produced by fossil fuel burning or national degradation, be called by a joint name.By the way,carbon dioxide let out is the main reason of why Donald Trump exit ‘Paris Agreement’ because if he want to revival secondary sector, the crime culprit of Global Warming Carbon Dioxide have to be allowed on a large scale.

Greenhouse Gas

Carbon dioxide (CO2): Chemical compound in which molecules are composed of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.(Carbon dioxide. By: Theilmann, John M., Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2014)

The major resources of CO2are coming from fossil fuel production and agriculture. CO2has another name called ‘Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)’. After a huge number ofGHGs go up, it will stay at aerosphere like plastic bag cap above the ground. GHGs has highly permeability of sunlight to reach Earth’s surface and it can absorb the red light emitted from terrestrial radiation. Therefore, the temperature of the earth increases rapidly like a plastic bag only allowed light in and do not allowed reasonable gases flow, thus the hot-gas stay in the bag largely.The graph below shows:

Some heat from the Sun is reflected back into space (squiggled arrows), but some becomes trapped by Earth’s atmosphere and reradiates toward Earth (straight arrows), thus heating the planet.

(Greenhouse gases and global warming. By: Burchard, Ewa M., Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2013)

Main Source of CO2

C+O2 =CO2

C3H8 + 5O2 = 3CO2 + 4H2O

In these years, always some statements said the amount of CO2 emitting increase apparently after Industrial Revolution. In that times, cars, factories and train were invented in succession. All of the new inventions need burn fossil fuels, like burning coal for train and factories and oil for cars, airplanes and ships. The reaction equation above is the formulas of coal (C) and liquefied petroleum gas (C3H8). The coal burn with oxygen can produce carbon dioxide, the ration of coal and oxygen is 1:1. LP-gas burn with oxygen can produce both carbon dioxide and water, the ration of LP-gas and oxygen is 1:5. The application of oil and coal in that generation is wild. Most of auto or semi-auto machines are depend on fossil fuel. For example, the smeltery need a mass of heat to melt, recast and strike. All of these parts would use a plenty of energy to control. Hence, the generation of carbon dioxide increase largely.

Fig. 3. CO2 emission by sector (Source: IEA)

(University of Illinois at Chicago – IL, USA and Energy Initiative – Erice (TP), Italy.EPJ Web of Conferences, Vol 148, p 00002 (2017), EDP Sciences, 2017.)

If just like this, the environment would not deteriorate so fast. After Secondary Industrial Revolution, many countries started worldwide transactions. The companies fell trees for convenient route and lower cost. Let along the environment damage brought about by the World War II. Countless trees and animal suffered mortal attack. The ecosphere had been broken once.

Natural Way to Solve CO2

Why trees so important to ecosphere? The answer is Photosynthesis. ‘Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy from the Sun into chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates.’ (Photosynthesis. By: Zheng, Ming Y., Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2013)First, the plant pigments will absorb the sunlight or photons. When the photons arrive the center of reaction which made up of Chlorophylls, light energy electrons secede from individual water molecules.

Chloroplasts are important organelles within plant cells and green algae cells. The organelles store starch and create energy through photosynthesis.

(EBSCO, CHLOROPLASTS, CHLOROPLASTS Formation, imh595069)

A part of the energy liberated by the energized electrons which is used to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP). And it will be used to yield carbohydrates from carbon dioxide. During the process, water play the roles as the source of electrons and oxygen gas.

This is a natural way to solve GHGs problem, but as technology improves and unlimited fell trees, using natural way is insufficient to deal with carbon dioxide. Therefore, people start to find a way to seize and store the carbon dioxide to be the secondary energy resource.

WhyCO2Capture and storage (CCS) are important

‘Technologies for carbon dioxide capture and storage have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy generated by fossil fuels.’ (EPJ Web of Conferences, Vol 148, p 00002 (2017),EDP Sciences, 2017.)

CCS work in conjunction with a transition to renewable energy generation will be a very efficient way to solve environment problem. Merely in the United States alone, above 40% carbon dioxide emissions are from the electricity grid. If we can transit more than eight percent of today’s fossil fuels energy to low or no carbon dioxide energy, CCS is necessary to achieve large and rapid CO2emissions reductions. (EPJ Web of Conferences, Vol 148, p 00002 (2017), EDP Sciences, 2017.)

CCS Network (Source: WRI).

(University of Illinois at Chicago – IL, USA and Energy Initiative – Erice (TP), Italy.EPJ Web of Conferences, Vol 148, p 00002 (2017), EDP Sciences, 2017.)

CCS work

CCS has 4 steps to work:

1. Capture carbon dioxide from power plants and industrial sources
2. Condense it and transfer to appropriate location via pipeline.
3. Inject carbon dioxide in to deep geological formations below the subsurface of the Earth as to do long-term sequestration.
4. 90% of emissions from emitters will be captured and stored in safely and permanently by natural trapping mechanisms

There are three technologies to capture carbon dioxide:

Technology

Advantage

Challenges

Post-combustion

• Mature technology
• Standard retrofit
• High energy penalty (20%-30%)
• High cost of capture

Oxygen-Combustion

• Avoid complex post-combustion
• Lower energy penalties (10%-15%)
• H2 production
• Oxygen separation
• Repowering

Pre-Combustion (IGCC)

• Lower costs than post-combustion
• Lower energy penalties (10%-15%)
• H2 production
• Complex chemical process
• Repowering
• Large capital investment

Comparison of capture options (Source: Global CCS Institute 2015 Report).

University of Illinois at Chicago – IL, USA and Energy Initiative – Erice (TP), Italy.EPJ Web of Conferences, Vol 148, p 00002 (2017), EDP Sciences, 2017.

Conclusion

According to Elizabeth A. Kocs (2016) said, Without any changes to current policies, by 2030 emissions are projected to increase by 63% from today’s levels and 90% from 1990 levels. Even with implementation of some global mitigation policies through 2030, the increase can still be up to 40% globally from today’s levels.’ We cannot stop using fossil fuels right now, because it is still the main resources for secondary sector. The things we can do is improving our technology to increase the percent conversion of carbon dioxide and decease the unnecessary escape of carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, human should start to protect environment from plant more trees and chop less frost. If we think choking or conversion are too far from our lives, we can do some small things like driving less or detailed garbage classification. The environment is relating our survival. To protect the world actually is a way to protect ourselves.

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