3 ms·

Let's assume that the wind turbine operates and generates power for a few decades, and is them chipped and burned in a biofuel power generation plant - it would

• mulmen 3y ago
  Where does the exhaust from the biofuel plant go? If it doesn't go into a hole in the ground then the system is neutral, not negative. Carbon negative means there's less carbon in the atmosphere at the end of the lifecycle. It seems to me that requires long-term sequestration.
  • bluGill 3y ago
    How do we burn them? Heat them in a low O2 enhironment would result in enough hydrogen released to renerate power and fuel the reaction while leaving carbon to behind. Not very efficent but it is known to work.
  • Angostura 3y ago
    The exhaust goes into the atmosphere. Overall then, assuming low carbon manufacture, the turbine is roughly carbon neutral. But then you factor in the decades of zero carbon operation. Assuming that some small proportion of that capacity is used to power carbon scrubbers/sequestration and you can fairly easily get to carbon negative
    • mulmen 3y ago
      How is a positive number minus zero negative? The carbon scrubber itself can be carbon negative if the carbon is sequestered but that’s true even if the power supplied to it emits carbon. The power source doesn’t get to take credit. That only complicates the math and leads to double counting. I still don’t see how the wind turbine itself is carbon neutral. And even if I did nothing about being made of wood makes a wind turbine more suitable for powering a carbon scrubber. These terms have meaning and overstating the capability undermines credibility.
      • Angostura 3y ago
        Having thought this through again - my argument is rubbish :)