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Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by gumby on Friday September 16, 2022 @05:40PM (#32872340)
I am working on climate repair, specifically the removal of methane from the atmosphere. Although the excess methane is only about 1.3 ppm, it's responsible for about a third of the temperature rise.

We're not building a huge machine to try to suck the atmosphere through a straw; we're doing chemistry in the open atmosphere. Plan to have a pilot running within the next year and within five years be removing up to 100 Mt per year.

Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by dr_dshiv on Friday September 16, 2022 @09:09PM (#32873902)
I have heard that terpenes are a major source for the production of HO (hydroxides), which only last for a microsecond, but are responsible for transforming most methane molecules to CO2. Did I get that right? (Also, is my vape pen making a difference?)
Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by gumby on Friday September 16, 2022 @11:27PM (#32874508)
Yes, hydroxyls are a primary source of methane oxidation over land. They are very corrosive and so reactive that they almost immediately participate in some reaction as soon as they are created.

The reactions over the ocean are largely Cl, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has ever visited the seaside. It’s also quite reactive, but the CH4 oxidation is a little more complex.

Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by michaelbarton on Friday September 16, 2022 @05:43PM (#32872382)
That sounds interesting. How do plan to fund that? 100mt a year of sequestration sounds like there would be a fair amount of costs and labour involved.
Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by gumby on Friday September 16, 2022 @09:01PM (#32873870)
For the past year I've been paying the bills (this is hardly my first startup) but we're just starting to talk to investors to bring some more staff on and start scaling up. We only need a few million for this stage.

There are people who pay for GHG removal and we have plans on how to expand that. We think it can be self-sustaining.

Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by michaelbarton on Saturday September 17, 2022 @12:44AM (#32874821)
Sounds great! Glad you’re able to bootstrap it. I ask because I’ve looked into this myself.

The issue I see with carbon sequestration is how the unit economics add up. Whether the cost of raw materials, labour, facilities, and scaling R&D all add up. My sense is that the he price of carbon credits is still too low for this. Would be interested in hearing more about your ideas.

Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by pbadg3r on Saturday September 17, 2022 @08:46PM (#32883210)
Would love to support you on this journey! I'm on the team at Fifty Years, we've backed teams like Noya (carbon removal) and Solugen (Carbon negative chemical manufacturing). Would love to chat! Feel free to email me at peregrine at 50y.com
Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by quickthrower2 on Friday September 16, 2022 @07:01PM (#32873141)
Wow. I really want your group to succeed! Also that was a clear succinct writeup of what you do.
Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by gumby on Friday September 16, 2022 @11:31PM (#32874520)
Thanks!

I couldn’t imagine writing that “I am passionate about transforming the atmospheric methane sector through an exciting and innovating GaaS (GHG-elimination as a Service.”

Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by jbay808 on Friday September 16, 2022 @06:38PM (#32872929)
Is the plan to remove it by converting methane to CO2?
Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by gumby on Friday September 16, 2022 @08:57PM (#32873846)
Exactly: methane breaks down naturally into two H2O and one CO2. Unfortunately nature can't keep up with the increased emissions (which are mostly impossible to prevent -- the heating earth is increasing the rate of natural methane emissions as well) so we are giving nature a hand.
Re:Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on? by gumby on Friday September 16, 2022 @08:59PM (#32873857)
BTW we are looking for MEs, EEs, and a physicist