Can carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere be reduced chemically?

Question

I mean, high school chemistry lab has all kinds of experiments to turn compounds into other compounds. Can this be done on a global scale to reduce CO2 levels? It sounds too obvious, so what are the complications?

Answer 1

Good Thinking, Zanti
One solution that has been proposed is gigantic KOH 'scrubbers' that would pull air through them and take CO2 out of the air by the following reaction

KOH + CO2 ==> KHCO3
The KHCO3 could then be placed in abandoned mines etc taking CO2 from the air.
Other methods include planting trees and other vegatation that will remove CO2. This would also be a huge undertaking.
The problem with most answers to removing CO2 from the air is that it is costly and time consuming. But if each person on the face of the earth were willing to use less and to conserve the resources that we have, major steps can be taken to clean the atmosphere. We will have to convince world leaders that the earth is in danger and is worth saving. It is individuals, like you, that can make a difference. Maybe you will be the person to come up with a cheap way to absorp the CO2 from the air. It is refreshing to get questions concerning the future of the planet.

Answer 2

It would be a massive project and nobody knows what side effects there would be. Humans are great for trying to solve a perceived problem and in reality creating three more.

Before anything like that should even be considered we need to discover the truth about global warming (CLIMATE CHANGE!!!). Just because a politically driven organization makes a claim does not make it a fact. I am referring to the recent IPCC report. They haven't been honest about warming causes in the past and they are being honest now.

Answer 3

I think it is quite hard to reduce CO2 levels because CO2 is a very stable compound with its linear structure(double bond) O=C=O

Answer 4

Cost too much - there's millions of tons of the stuff: .035% of the atmosphere.