Energy-neutral and socially inclusive abstraction of atmospheric CO2

Abstract

Claudio Vita-Finzi and John Marshall

A scheme is outlined for combating the overheated greenhouse effect by complementing measures to reduce CO2 generation by extracting CO2 at source and from the atmosphere. The gas is absorbed in sodium hydroxide (NaOH), as in many similar systems, but the process is powered by natural wind or solar pumps, the resulting Na2 CO3 and NaHCO3 are marketed, and fresh NaOH is generated mainly by electrodialysis of waste brine from solar desalination plants. The scheme could run at two main scales: domestic and industrial. The former requires integration into the social fabric, as has been waste recycling in the UK, the low CO2 extraction throughput to be compensated by the deployment of many millions of domestic units. The second scale is exemplified by CO2 traps mounted at favourable elevation, notably on some of the 350,000 major wind turbines operating worldwide. Atmospheric decarbonation would be complemented by CO2 trapping at its source, whether major, such as power stations, or minor but numerous, such as vehicles powered by fossil fuels.

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