Greenhouse Gas Capture
Nuclear or solar energy can be used to actively capture greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and convert them into non-polluting chemical compounds, in other words, to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into solid carbon and gaseous oxygen. Earth will get more heat (waste heat of the nuclear power station, and energy consumption of the processes, minus the internal energy added to carbon and oxygen when chemically separating them out of the carbon dioxide). Also, the removed carbon dioxide will reduce it in the atmosphere. Instead of direct chemical reactions, the capture could be done by biological means, accelerated with help of nuclear energy. In other words, air separation plants could run on nuclear energy, capturing liquid or solid carbon dioxide. Then, possibly, chlorophyll-containing genetically modified algae could be used to convert it into fixed carbon compounds. We could have an interim technology of spraying microspheres loaded with algae into the open atmosphere from aircraft or even balloons. If the microspheres were small enough, these could remain in the air for long times, and go on converting carbon dioxide with help of direct solar energy.
Read more about this topic: Ecological Engineering Methods
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