Profitable Carbon Capture for All

Abstract:

Global warming is increasing the occurrence of extreme weather events some of which create natural disasters with devastating consequences. Policy makers are trying cope with this challenge by introducing regulatory restrictions on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and taxes on fossil fuels. However, such policies are not popular because of the emphasis on penalizing emissions rather than rewarding emission reductions.

Due to lack of sufficient progress so far, what is needed is a new approach which would garner widespread support around the world. Ecoken has proposed utilizing financial incentive as the behavioral stimulus to accelerate GHG reductions. The thrust of the initiative is to demonstrate with concrete examples that there are environmentally friendly improvements which are not only good for the climate when implemented, but also provide a significant financial gain to the undertaker.

As part of this initiative, Ecoken has prepared and disseminated to the public two introductory guides. The first one describes how solar energy can be used profitably with gains exceeding 10x of the initial investment per year (https://goo.gl/aZ8xa2). The second one details how one can save thousands of dollars on energy related expenses by reducing wasted energy (https://goo.4jXWdU). What is reported in this paper is a third guide about how to recycle GHGs to create new value (https://goo.gl/BcgTgW).

GHGs targeted for recycling are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor. The guide includes five examples which are easy enough to be implemented by the public. First two examples recommend recycling carbon dioxide by engaging in urban farming and aquaculture of shellfish. Third example about methane suggests enriching solid fuels, like wood chips, with methane harvested from the air. Fourth example about nitrous oxide utilizes photocatalysts to decompose it into oxygen and nitrogen while purifying the air. The last example advocates atmospheric water generation as a secondary source of potable water.