Ok this may sound nuts but it is true. A professor at Columbia University, Klaus Lackner, and his company Global Research Technologies, are working on an Artificial tree that collects CO2 at a greater rate the the real thing.
The “trees” uses plastic leaves that capture the carbon dioxide in a chamber, it is then compressed into liquid form. The “trees” can capture the CO2 without the need for direct sunlight, unlike traditional trees. Allowing them to be used in enclosed places such as factories and power plants. For every 1,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide collected, the tree emits just 200 kilograms, and are projected to be able to collect 90,000 tons of carbon per year. The trees are still in prototype phase and capture carbon about 1,000 times faster than a real tree. They are not cheap thou with each one costing about the same as a new car. But the rate at which they can capture carbon it more the justifies the cost.
via Ecogeek and Popular Science.
A nice idea if it becomes commercially useful. But after that one would wonder if they can get the big brass to adopt some of these trees in their own backyard and factories.
Well if they can get carbon credits working there would be more of an economic incentive to use tech like this. And, as we all know the more a tech is use there is more research into it making it better, faster, and cheaper.
So does that mean I can cut down as many trees as I see fit?
I don’t think it quite works that way.
Looks promising, but I wonder about the photosynthesis cycle…what about the oxygen? Only gets the CO2 but does not release oxygen? At least, it will help reduce the global warming.
Well it doesn’t use sunlight to work so its not really photosynthesis. They talk about the captured CO2 being used to create jet fuel or other uses so it’s looking more of a way to make processes CO neutral.