Re:Is carbon capture a viable solution?
by Someone on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @09:04AM
(#25198477)
The process need not be as efficient as nature; if it ‘only’ is both a net win and deployable at a scale that’s larger than we can do by planting trees/stopping cutting down trees, it could be a good idea, even if we get the energy needed for capturing CO2 from burning even more oil.
And no, it need not belie the laws of thermodynamics. The idea isn’t to convert CO2 back to oil or do so without putting in more energy than burning oil gave us. In fact, some capture approaches keep the CO2 as CO2, for example by pumping it into empty oil fields (that makes me think “what could possibly go wrong?”, but hey, what do I know?)
(I have trouble envisioning carbon capture to be a net win and feasible at scale, but I’m not an expert; it might work, just as burning forests to prevent forest fires from spreading has its uses)
And no, it need not belie the laws of thermodynamics. The idea isn’t to convert CO2 back to oil or do so without putting in more energy than burning oil gave us. In fact, some capture approaches keep the CO2 as CO2, for example by pumping it into empty oil fields (that makes me think “what could possibly go wrong?”, but hey, what do I know?)
(I have trouble envisioning carbon capture to be a net win and feasible at scale, but I’m not an expert; it might work, just as burning forests to prevent forest fires from spreading has its uses)