Carbon dioxide has become far too prevalent in our atmosphere and is a large component of greenhouse gases that many believe are responsible for climate change. But what if this excess carbon dioxide could be harvested from the atmosphere, repurposed, and used to make a clean, renewable energy source that already exists more efficient?
It sounds like a plan Doc Brown would have concocted and then hurriedly told Marty McFly about as a group of angry terrorists bared down on them, but this isn’t the stuff of science fiction like a flux capacitor, this is very much based in reality.
GE believes it has found a way to harvest CO2 and use it to create solar batteries, Digitaltrends.com reports. Solar energy is a great source of renewable energy, but there is a problem: the sun needs to be shining in order to harness its power. Currently, there isn’t a very efficient means of storing energy produced from solar power to keep it available to the grid whenever it is needed, even if the sun isn’t currently shining, but that could all change.
Here is how the two-stage process works: solar energy would be captured and stored in a liquid of molten salt. Harvested and stored CO2 would then be cooled into dry ice and, when power is needed, the salt would turn the dry ice CO2 into a “supercritical” fluid (which is defined as matter that does not have specific liquid or gas phases). This supercritical fluid would then flow into a CO2 turbine called a sunrotor and the energy would be disseminated as needed.
If it seems complicated, well, that’s probably because it is. But don’t worry, just because something being complicated often times means it is inefficient and/or expensive, that isn’t the case here.
Not only would the process be cheap since energy isn’t being made, just transferred, the sunrotors would also be able to operate with 68% efficiency. Gas power plants are typically only able to achieve 61% efficiency.
However, this process and the sunrotors are still a good five to 10 years away from actually being put into use, but the fact that the technology exists to not only suck some CO2 out of the atmosphere but to also use it to make renewable, clean energy sources more efficient and practical makes this a classic two birds with one stone scenario.
The overall effect of these sunrotors and this CO2 harvesting/storing process is reduced usage of fossil fuels for power generation, which would only work to eliminate even more CO2 from the atmosphere.
Related Stories
| Feb 4, 2011
U.S. Green Building Council applauds President Obama’s Green Building Initiative
The U.S. Green Building Council applauded a key element of President Obama’s plan to “win the future” by making America’s commercial buildings more energy- and resource-efficient over the next decade. The President’s plan, entitled Better Buildings Initiative, catalyzes private-sector investment through a series of incentives to upgrade offices, stores, schools and universities, hospitals and other commercial and municipal buildings.
| Feb 4, 2011
President Obama: 20% improvement in energy efficiency will save $40 billion
President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative, announced February 3, 2011, aims to achieve a 20% improvement in energy efficiency in commercial buildings by 2020, improvements that will save American businesses $40 billion a year.
| Jan 19, 2011
U.S. Green Building Council Welcomes New Board Directors
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced newly elected officers and new directors to its 2011 Board of Directors, including Elizabeth J. Heider from Skanska; Kirsten Ritchi from Gensler; and Dennis Maloskey, from the Pennsylvania Governor's Green Government Council.
| Jan 7, 2011
Mixed-Use on Steroids
Mixed-use development has been one of the few bright spots in real estate in the last few years. Successful mixed-use projects are almost always located in dense urban or suburban areas, usually close to public transportation. It’s a sign of the times that the residential component tends to be rental rather than for-sale.
| Dec 7, 2010
Blue is the future of green design
Blue design creates places that are not just neutral, but actually add back to the world and is the future of sustainable design and architecture, according to an interview with Paul Eagle, managing director of Perkins+Will, New York; and Janice Barnes, principal at the firm and global discipline leader for planning and strategies.
| Nov 29, 2010
Renovating for Sustainability
Motivated by the prospect of increased property values, reduced utility bills, and an interest in jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, a noted upturn in green building upgrades is helping designers and real estate developers stay busy while waiting for the economy to recover. In fact, many of the larger property management outfits have set up teams to undertake projects seeking LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM, also referred to as LEED-EB), a certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
| Nov 16, 2010
Brazil Olympics spurring green construction
Brazil's green building industry will expand in the coming years, spurred by construction of low-impact venues being built for the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires arenas built for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro meet international standards for low-carbon emissions and energy efficiency. This has boosted local interest in developing real estate with lower environmental impact than existing buildings. The timing couldn’t be better: the Brazilian government is just beginning its long-term infrastructure expansion program.
| Nov 16, 2010
Green building market grows 50% in two years; Green Outlook 2011 report
The U.S. green building market is up 50% from 2008 to 2010—from $42 billion to $55 billion-$71 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction's Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green; in five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction.
| Nov 11, 2010
USGBC certifies more than 1 billion square feet of commercial space
This month, the total footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System surpassed one billion square feet. Another six billion square feet of projects are registered and currently working toward LEED certification around the world. Since 2000, more than 36,000 commercial projects and 38,000 single-family homes have participated in LEED.
