Friday has arrived, and the 'A Taste of Science for the Weekend' segment is back - number 105.
And this time - how carbon transformed from a threat to humanity into a multi-billion-dollar economic promise.
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The massive plant in the video was built in the middle of the Icelandic wasteland, and it is one of the most desperate expressions of humanity's attempt to fight carbon.
The more advanced humanity becomes, the more fossil fuels it consumes, and the more fossil fuels it consumes, the more carbon it emits as a byproduct. This carbon turns the Earth into a greenhouse that is patiently frying us.
Efforts to reduce carbon emissions are no longer enough to turn back the clock, so the only solution is to actively capture it. This plant in Iceland filters massive amounts of air using geothermal energy, absorbs the carbon from the air, and buries it deep underground in the form of basalt rocks.
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The problem with extracting carbon is that its concentration in the air is very low, requiring a massive investment of energy to draw in enough air to make the process effective. The carbon is captured using a sorbent material, and extracting the carbon from the sorbent material so it can be reused requires a significant amount of additional energy. For this reason, even direct carbon capture at factory smokestacks is not efficient enough.
A more efficient method focuses on filtering carbon from ocean water. Water can hold a hundred times more carbon than air, and when the carbon in it is depleted and the water is returned to the sea, it reabsorbs carbon from the air. Minerals that react and bind with carbon can also be dispersed in seawater, preventing its re-release into the atmosphere even without the need for active extraction.
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The problem with all these methods is that they are not economically viable. Their only viability stems from government legislation worldwide that imposes heavy taxes on carbon pollution, as well as from polluting companies trying to improve their image by voluntarily investing in carbon emission reduction technologies.
The new wave of carbon companies no longer sees it merely as a problem, but also as a highly lucrative solution.
Carbon can be injected into the concrete manufacturing process. It reacts chemically with the mixture to form a solid mineral framework, which significantly strengthens the concrete. This reinforced concrete allows for a 4-6% reduction in the amount of cement used. Since cement is one of the largest carbon polluters, the benefit is twofold: the carbon is locked in the walls instead of the atmosphere, and the use of polluting cement is reduced.
Beyond its use in construction, a thriving industry of startups is emerging, finding more efficient ways to capture carbon, separate it, and utilize it for various practical applications. Many of these companies are Israeli.
Another important aspect of this issue is the transition to autonomous and computerized monitoring tools for regulatory approval of emission reductions. Any company subject to carbon regulations is required to prove, through a long and cumbersome process, that it has indeed reduced its carbon emissions in a way that prevents the carbon from returning to the atmosphere. The use of satellites, electronic data collection, and the recording of information on a tamper-proof blockchain network make it possible to streamline these processes and reduce costs.
The history of the modern era has proven time and again that economic viability is the best engine for solving problems, and it seems the true solution to the climate crisis will also emerge from it.
Shabbat Shalom 😊
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👋 Hi, I'm Shlomo Strauss, and my posts are not written by artificial intelligence.
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