6 ms·

We can convert CO2 into coal and then store it underground, just like nuclear waste.

by drran 5y ago

VBprogrammer 5y ago
Surely you understand that this is likely to cost a similar amount in energy terms as was released in burning the hydrocarbon in the first place?
- hutzlibu 5y ago
  No problem, we just burn more coal then, oh wait ..
- credit_guy 5y ago
  There's a slight variation of what the GP is proposing, called methane pyrolysis [1]. In that, you separate the hydrogen and the carbon from methane, and then you can burn the hydrogen to get energy, and store the carbon in a landfill. Burning hydrogen creates more energy than it takes to split the methane, so overall the process is exothermic. Right now that process is not economical yet (you need some catalysts, and the carbon doesn't just come out, it sticks to something, you need to wash it with some acids, then retrieve the acids, etc). But active research is ongoing, so there's a chance this will become viable in the next few years. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis#Methane_pyrolysis_for_hydrogen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis#Methane_pyrolysis_fo...
  - kaba0 5y ago
    That is for methane only, which you can just as well simply burn, because the resulting CO2 has less green house effect.
    - VBprogrammer 5y ago
      Or burn and capture the CO2 before it has been dispersed into the atmosphere (where at a concentration of 0.04% you have to pump a lot of inert gases around your system to remove a small amount of CO2.
Zababa 5y ago
So we agree that nuclear energy make waste that is easier and safer to dispose of, as you don't need the extra step?
- drran 5y ago
  Easier, but not safer. Pure carbon (mixed with something inert, to prevent burning) doesn't need armed guard for the next 500 years at least. IMHO, the easiest and cheapest way to store carbon is to grow algae to make hydrocarbons (oils), separate them mechanically, then spread them over a soil as fertilizer, or pump them underground, or burn part of the algae to make a kind of charcoal (to prevent biodegradation).

We can convert CO2 into coal and then store it underground, just like nuclear waste.

by drran 5y ago

We can convert CO2 into coal and then store it underground, just like nuclear waste.

Surely you understand that this is likely to cost a similar amount in energy terms as was released in burning the hydrocarbon in the first place?

hutzlibu 5y ago
No problem, we just burn more coal then, oh wait ..
credit_guy 5y ago
There's a slight variation of what the GP is proposing, called methane pyrolysis [1]. In that, you separate the hydrogen and the carbon from methane, and then you can burn the hydrogen to get energy, and store the carbon in a landfill. Burning hydrogen creates more energy than it takes to split the methane, so overall the process is exothermic. Right now that process is not economical yet (you need some catalysts, and the carbon doesn't just come out, it sticks to something, you need to wash it with some acids, then retrieve the acids, etc). But active research is ongoing, so there's a chance this will become viable in the next few years. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis#Methane_pyrolysis_for_hydrogen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis#Methane_pyrolysis_fo...
- kaba0 5y ago
  That is for methane only, which you can just as well simply burn, because the resulting CO2 has less green house effect.
  - VBprogrammer 5y ago
    Or burn and capture the CO2 before it has been dispersed into the atmosphere (where at a concentration of 0.04% you have to pump a lot of inert gases around your system to remove a small amount of CO2.

Zababa 5y ago

So we agree that nuclear energy make waste that is easier and safer to dispose of, as you don't need the extra step?

drran 5y ago
Easier, but not safer. Pure carbon (mixed with something inert, to prevent burning) doesn't need armed guard for the next 500 years at least. IMHO, the easiest and cheapest way to store carbon is to grow algae to make hydrocarbons (oils), separate them mechanically, then spread them over a soil as fertilizer, or pump them underground, or burn part of the algae to make a kind of charcoal (to prevent biodegradation).