3 ms·

Can't we just burn plastics? Most of them are hydrocarbons similar to gasoline. Granted, it's not 100% clean, but the amount of CO2 created by burning all the

Can't we just burn plastics? Most of them are hydrocarbons similar to gasoline. Granted, it's not 100% clean, but the amount of CO2 created by burning all the plastics in the car can't be much worse than a couple tanks worth of gas.

cstejerean 4y ago
Or just package it in something that won’t allow the plastic to leech and then bury it for the carbon capture.
gst 4y ago
What would be the advantage of doing that? We're currently researching CO2 sequestration to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it somewhere outside of the atmosphere. So what would we gain by burning plastics? Even if they are not recycled - having those plastics in a landfill is a lot better than burning them and putting CO2 into the atmosphere.
- antupis 4y ago
  Carbon capture + burning is probably best especially cold places which needs district heating. Eg Norway has now pilot ongoing https://bellona.org/news/ccs/2022-03-oslo-leading-by-example-worlds-first-co2-capture-and-storage-on-waste-incinerator-to-become-reality-in-2026 https://bellona.org/news/ccs/2022-03-oslo-leading-by-example...
  - seoaeu 4y ago
    What? Renewable energy from wind or solar is vastly easier than burning fossil fuel and then trying to get the resulting CO2 back out of the air
    - ThunderSizzle 4y ago
      Vegetation tends to do pretty well at handling CO2. Also, destroying the landscape to "save the climate" still ends with destroying the environment. Wind and solar aren't energy dense enough to justify the damage they cause.
      - seoaeu 4y ago
        Literally none of what you said is true
        ThunderSizzle 4y ago
        How much land needs to be destroyed to make solar farms and wind farms big enough to generate the vast majority of power? What species already inhabits that land or space that will be re-purposed? What happens to old solar panels and wind turbines after they reach their end of life? What happens to the places that supply the raw materials for solar panels? How many batteries are needed to make up for solar and wind variance? What is required to make those batteries? How much land do they require? Will batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines all continue to work at the same level as other power sources in times of extreme weather?
    - msh 4y ago
      Solar won't work in Norway in the winter. Wind is too intermittent. So you need an alternative. I don't know if burning stuff and capturing CO2 is a good alternative.
      - seoaeu 4y ago
        The problem with carbon capture is that (a) it takes a lot of energy and (b) is only marginally ahead of fusion on being ready for widespread deployment. So compared to that basically anything is a better alternative. In the case of Norway, apparently they produce ~90% of their electricity from hydro. Good strategy if there’s lots of spots in your country for hydro electric dams, pretty difficult to replicate if not.
dagurp 4y ago
I believe that Sweden does this to generate electricity
Delphiza 4y ago
We do, and a lot more extensively than people realise. It is called energy recovery. Look for 'Enery Recovery Facility' or something similar. Also known as Waste-to-energy in the US. They are 'good' in a sense that they divert from landfill and try and capture the carbon that they burn. Most people aren't aware of it because the sector doesn't publicise 'burning rubbish' as it sounds worse than 'burning oil'.

cstejerean 4y ago

Or just package it in something that won’t allow the plastic to leech and then bury it for the carbon capture.

gst 4y ago

What would be the advantage of doing that? We're currently researching CO2 sequestration to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it somewhere outside of the atmosphere. So what would we gain by burning plastics? Even if they are not recycled - having those plastics in a landfill is a lot better than burning them and putting CO2 into the atmosphere.

antupis 4y ago
Carbon capture + burning is probably best especially cold places which needs district heating. Eg Norway has now pilot ongoing https://bellona.org/news/ccs/2022-03-oslo-leading-by-example-worlds-first-co2-capture-and-storage-on-waste-incinerator-to-become-reality-in-2026 https://bellona.org/news/ccs/2022-03-oslo-leading-by-example...
- seoaeu 4y ago
  What? Renewable energy from wind or solar is vastly easier than burning fossil fuel and then trying to get the resulting CO2 back out of the air
  - ThunderSizzle 4y ago
    Vegetation tends to do pretty well at handling CO2. Also, destroying the landscape to "save the climate" still ends with destroying the environment. Wind and solar aren't energy dense enough to justify the damage they cause.
    - seoaeu 4y ago
      Literally none of what you said is true
      - ThunderSizzle 4y ago
        How much land needs to be destroyed to make solar farms and wind farms big enough to generate the vast majority of power? What species already inhabits that land or space that will be re-purposed? What happens to old solar panels and wind turbines after they reach their end of life? What happens to the places that supply the raw materials for solar panels? How many batteries are needed to make up for solar and wind variance? What is required to make those batteries? How much land do they require? Will batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines all continue to work at the same level as other power sources in times of extreme weather?
  - msh 4y ago
    Solar won't work in Norway in the winter. Wind is too intermittent. So you need an alternative. I don't know if burning stuff and capturing CO2 is a good alternative.
    - seoaeu 4y ago
      The problem with carbon capture is that (a) it takes a lot of energy and (b) is only marginally ahead of fusion on being ready for widespread deployment. So compared to that basically anything is a better alternative. In the case of Norway, apparently they produce ~90% of their electricity from hydro. Good strategy if there’s lots of spots in your country for hydro electric dams, pretty difficult to replicate if not.

dagurp 4y ago

I believe that Sweden does this to generate electricity

Delphiza 4y ago

We do, and a lot more extensively than people realise. It is called energy recovery. Look for 'Enery Recovery Facility' or something similar. Also known as Waste-to-energy in the US. They are 'good' in a sense that they divert from landfill and try and capture the carbon that they burn. Most people aren't aware of it because the sector doesn't publicise 'burning rubbish' as it sounds worse than 'burning oil'.