Removing CO2 From the Air Efficiently

Canadian scientists have created a device that efficiently removes CO2 from the atmosphere. "The proposed air capture system differs from existing carbon capture and storage technology ... while CCS involves installing equipment at, say, a coal-fired power plant to capture CO2 produced during the coal-burning process, ... air capture machines will be able to literally remove the CO2 present in ambient air everywhere. [The team used] ... a custom-built tower to capture CO2 directly from the air while requiring less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity per tonne of carbon dioxide."

Comments

Reference point to CO2 emissions

[Hays]

Assuming that 1 tonne = 1000kg, this machine requires approximately 1 kilowatt hour of electricity to remove 10kg of Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. How efficient is this?

From http://www.glumac.com/section.asp?catid=140&subid=152&pageid=564

"For home energy use, carbon dioxide emissions vary widely from state-to-state and from day-to-day. The national average is about 1.3 pounds of carbon dioxide for every kilowatt-hour of electricity used in your home."

Not bad. If it really works, you can redirect 10 to 15% of your electricity to achieve Carbon neutrality.

Cow Farts... wrong end!

[Enter the Shoggoth]

Actually, it's a common misconception that "cow emissions" are from cow's farting, it's actually the way a ruminant will burp during the processing of a cud that produces large volumes of methane (which is of course more troubling than CO2 emissions)

They won't be making a pile of cash out of trees.

Can't resist:

1) Identify a possible source of trouble 2) Invent a fix, no matter how convoluted it is 3) Patent it and market it 4) Profit

Just wonder how much do we have to wait for a fart capture device (cow farts are actually a major source of trouble)