A machine that sucks polluted air in and filters it and blows it back out as clean O2. If we could build machines like this and place them all over the world. They need to be very very huge big machine that has to filter thousands of tons of air a day. This will not only slow down the global warming but it will also reverse it at the same time. Giving us a whole new world clean of all polluted air. So, if we build them, will they work?
2007-06-24 07:49:12 · 15 answers · asked by roaldliang 1 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
Professor Klaus Lackner's 15 year old daughter has already beaten you to it. She was thinking about ideas for a school science project and came up with a device that would remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It's been dubbed the 'synthetic tree' because it mimics the action of a real tree.
In reality it's a chemical process so no energy is needed to power the system. It uses sodium hydroxide which reacts chemically with carbon dioxide, the resulting byproduct can then be used by the oil industry.
Global Research Technologies are building a small prototype model, the full sized model will be able to remove 90,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year - that's about the same amount of CO2 that 15,000 people produce.
Globally about 300,000 of these devices would be needed to remove all the CO2 that we put into the atmosphere each year.
Similar schemes have been put forward for the chemical removal of other greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide.
There's more about the Synthetic Trees here http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/recycleco2.html and a technical white paper here http://www.centre-cired.fr/perso/haduong/files/Keith.ea-2005-ClimateStrategyWithCO2CaptureFromTheAir.pdf
There are several other schemes that are being developed that will remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, synthetic trees is just one of them. Some of the ideas are entirely natural. Other schemes are looking at ways to reduce the amount of heat being received from the sun.
2007-06-24 08:40:02 · answer #1 · answered by Trevor 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The energy required to run this machine would most likely be produced by fossil fuels, which would be putting CO2 in the air as the machine is cleaning the air. Now, if this machine were solar powered or wind powered, maybe, but we don't have the technology to accomplish this at the moment.
2007-06-24 14:59:13 · answer #2 · answered by triplestack 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Scrubbing the entire atmosphere is an ambitious project. Not only costly but the pollution created by manufacturing the scrubber and then running it would be a concern too.
It's a good thought, but every time we try to alter mother nature mother nature alters in a different way.
2007-06-24 15:29:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The question presupposes the answer. If the machine exists, it would obviously work. Just like the old question, when the unstoppable cannonball hits the immovable post, which wins? Each of them presupposes that the other does not exist. Perhaps your question is meant to ask if such a machine can be built. My opinion is that is has been built, it's the plants, oceans, and microrganisms of the Earth. Please don't let the goofballs who cry about polluted air convince you otherwise.
2007-06-24 15:27:38 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
It would take lots of energy, therefore you would need lots of energy to convert CO2 to O2. So burn fossil fuels to make oxygen, sure.
And sodium hydroxide has to be produce using energy. Let's just cut down a forest, bury it so it can't decompose and plant a new one. I really don't think we're going to get more efficient than photosynthesis.
2007-06-24 16:57:53 · answer #5 · answered by Scott L 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People can't figure out how to build a machine do that yet. They're trying.
There's $25 million waiting for someone who can build that machine. Details:
http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_read.asp?id=22435292007
2007-06-24 14:55:14 · answer #6 · answered by Bob 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's easier to just place it on top of the sources if pollution, such as power plants.
2007-06-24 14:53:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anders 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
How would you power it? It sounds like it would need lots and lots of power, and most power in general comes from fossil fuels such as coal power plants or oil.
2007-06-24 14:54:07 · answer #8 · answered by Matthew L 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
why not just stop poluting ,would that not make more sense
Nature for the greatest part is self cleaning ,we must just stop putting more and more s**t into it
we are treating the Environment like a huge toilet that does not flush.
2007-06-24 14:56:26 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
What will drive this machine? Will *it* be pollution free? Think about it.
2007-06-24 14:52:30 · answer #10 · answered by ? 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋